Her face was plastered on stamps. But her life was then ‘thrown upside down’
By Nick Wright
She used to see her face etched on postage stamps, commemorating her Commonwealth Games gold.
“But I had no idea what was coming,” the former swimming star says.
Joanna Fargus was 26 when she called time on her career, convinced she would not endure another four-year Olympic cycle, having missed out on selection for the Beijing 2008 team.
Like many elite athletes, she had centred her identity around the sport.
Joanna Fargus achieved gold medal glory at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006. Two years later, she began to fall into a hole.Credit: AAPIMAGE
Fargus would spend the next decade trying to discover who she was without swimming.
“No one had talked about the fact your life is thrown upside down,” she says.
“I went through a very challenging period of really struggling to find my place. I didn’t have the teammates, the training schedule, that support network … and I went off the deep end.”
Forty per cent of retired athletes suffer from depression and anxiety, University of Queensland psychology expert Dr Tarli Young says.
In the 16 years since her final race, Fargus has rebuilt herself – pursuing a career in communications, and focusing on developing social connections in and out of her work life.
She sought the support of a psychologist to come to terms with her new reality.
“My whole sense of identity was really challenged – my entire life was Jo the swimmer, and that was kind of the initial shock,” Fargus says.
“I had absolutely no idea who I was without swimming ... I just lost entirely who I was.
It is an emotional tightrope many athletes must walk.
“There was nothing structurally in place for us [after retiring from sport], so you’re kind of just cast off into the world to figure it out yourself. It was a really hard time, and no one prepares you for it.”
Following the Dolphins’ season-ending defeat to Newcastle at the tail end of the NRL 2024 season, Jesse Bromwich entered his retirement from rugby league “content” and eager to complete his carpentry apprenticeship and become a more hands-on father to his three sons.
“I don’t know yet what it’s going to feel like, but I’m prepared,” Bromwich says.
“I knew it was going to come to an end … it’s time for me to get a real job, and put my family first.”
Paris Olympics silver medallist Elijah Winnington credits the balance he has found away from swimming – including imminent wedding plans and studies in athlete management – for inspiring his resurgence from post-Tokyo Games depression to a push for Brisbane 2032.
“It’s very hard not to get caught up in who you are as the athlete rather than trying to find out who you are as the person,” Winnington says.
“People only really talk about you if you’re doing well in the swimming pool, so you’ve got to be motivated and embrace that … but you’ve also got to be mentally strong enough to know I’m a bigger person outside of this.”
Elijah Winnington proudly displays his silver medal.Credit: AP
But that preparation comes from more than finding a new career path, which has inspired the work of Young.
The School of Psychology academic is developing the More Than Sport program, aimed at encouraging athletes to broaden their identities early in life.
Young says while some codes have improved their support programs, those with less funding are falling short.
“Athletes tend to have fewer [social] groups due to the demands of elite sport. When they leave sport, they tend to lose these group-based identities,” Young says.
“They’re held up on a pedestal while they’re competing, and when they’re no longer fulfilling that role, to not have any support, that’s pretty heartbreaking.
“For people who are depressed, if they gain two groups, then the risk of relapsing into depression halves, so it’s really powerful in terms of preventing future depressive episodes.”
Young says the existing support tends to focus on helping athletes find new jobs.
“But there’s much more to identity than your career.”
Fargus, a participant in More Than Sport’s research, fears the push for excellence in a short career makes establishing a diverse identity a continued struggle.
She believes pre-emptive measures should be put in place.
“I think in the current age where you have so many more eyes on you, your identity as the swimmer is so much more heightened than for us back then,” Fargus says.
Fargus is overcome by emotion after winning the women’s 200m backstroke event at the 2006 Commmonwealth Games. Credit: AAPIMAGE
“When I was competing, we were almost actively discouraged from doing anything else. Our coaches and administrators didn’t want to detract from that you were a commodity and needed to perform.
“There’s going to be swathes of athletes who are going to be going through transition imminently.”
“It’s more important than ever to have these programs in place that help you figure out you’re more than your sport.”
Joanna Fargus
In issuing a call-out for more athletes to take part in a wider study, Young is adamant early intervention initiatives would extend careers – providing athletes better mental health would trigger greater performance, she says.
“It’s to their advantage to be highly focused on their athletic pursuits while they’re performing ... [but] if their mental health can’t hold up, they can’t continue.”