COVID and the crisis: the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of elite athletes and their thoughts about career ending

Figures & data

Figure 1. Theoretical framework relating income shock to well-being and thoughts about career ending.

Table 1. Overview of variables and summary statistics for elite athletes $(n=1652)$_.

Variable	Mean	Description
Dependent variables
Life satisfaction	6.952	Satisfaction with life in general (0 = completely dissatisfied; 10 = completely satisfied)
Career ending thought	0.359	Athlete pondered ending their career in 2020 (1 = yes)
Magnitude career end thought	5.842	If athlete pondered ending their career in 2020, magnitude of the thought (0 = very weak; 10 = very strong)
Income shock variables
Income shock	0.328	Income shock in 2020 (1 = yes)
Income shock 0%–10%	0.072	Income shock in 2020 less than 10% (1 = yes)
Income shock 11%–30%	0.118	Income shock in 2020 between 11 and 30% (1 = yes)
Income shock 31%–50%	0.062	Income shock in 2020 between 31 and 50% (1 = yes)
Income shock >50%	0.066	Income shock in 2020 more than 50% (1 = yes)
Control variables
Olympic/Paralympic squad	0.126	Athlete belongs to the Olympic/Paralympic squad (1 = yes)
Perspective/supplement squad	0.479	Athlete belongs to the perspective or supplemental squad 1&2 (1 = yes)
Youth squad 1&2	0.350	Athlete belongs to the Youth squad 1&2 (1 = yes)
Other squad	0.028	Athlete belongs to another squad (1 = yes)
No squad	0.018	Athlete does not belong to a squad (1 = yes)
Age <20	0.332	Athlete is younger than 20 years old
Age 20–23	0.333	Athlete is between 20 and 23 years old
Age >23	0.337	Athlete is more than 23 years old
Female	0.510	Gender (0 = male; 1 = female)
A-levels	0.521	University entry qualification (1 = yes)
Poor health status	0.004	Self-assessed health status is poor; 1 on a 5-point scale (1 = yes)
Kids	0.042	Athlete has a kid/kids (1 = yes)
Migration background	0.181	At least one parent with a non-German nationality (1 = yes)
Household size	2.760	Number of people in the household
Full-time job	0.060	Athlete has a full-time job (1 = yes)
Part-time job	0.048	Athlete has a part-time job (1 = yes)
Training facility limited	5.258	Training at the training facility was limited in 2020 (0 = not at all; 10 = training facility was closed)
Competitions limited	7.713	Competitions were limited in 2020 (0 = not at all; 10 = competitions were cancelled)
COVID-19 infection	0.082	Athlete was infected with COVID-19 in 2020 (1 = yes)

Table 2. Regression results of the first step of the mediation analysis, income shock categories model, and models differentiated by income.

Variable	Life satisfaction
	Full sample		Under 10 k	10–25 k	Over 25 k
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
	OLS	OLS	OLS	OLS	OLS
Income shock	−0.539***	—	−0.627***	−0.520**	−0.365*
	(0.109)	—	(0.176)	(0.232)	(0.198)
Income shock 0%–10%	—	−0.225	—	—	—
	—	(0.202)	—	—	—
Income shock 11%–30%	—	−0.537***	—	—	—
	—	(0.153)	—	—	—
Income shock 31%–50%	—	−0.571***	—	—	—
	—	(0.201)	—	—	—
Income shock >50%	—	−0.841***	—	—	—
	—	(0.226)	—	—	—
Income	0.003	0.002	—	—	—
	(0.002)	(0.003)	—	—	—
Olympic/Paralympic sq.	0.093	0.086	−0.118	−0.091	0.356
	(0.158)	(0.158)	(0.354)	(0.319)	(0.222)
Youth squad 1&2	−0.327**	−0.303**	−0.502**	−0.398	1.133**
	(0.137)	(0.136)	(0.203)	(0.259)	(0.506)
Other squad	−0.573	−0.571	−0.347	−0.223	−0.593
	(0.383)	(0.384)	(0.773)	(0.579)	(0.690)
No squad	−1.268**	−1.282**	−2.092***	−1.084	0.031
	(0.512)	(0.525)	(0.735)	(0.988)	(0.730)
Age <20	0.303*	0.264	0.265	0.708**	−0.577
	(0.183)	(0.184)	(0.327)	(0.323)	(0.603)
Age 20–23	0.022	−0.009	−0.085	0.313	−0.136
	(0.130)	(0.130)	(0.266)	(0.237)	(0.241)
Female	−0.277***	−0.275***	−0.227	−0.512**	−0.036
	(0.096)	(0.096)	(0.139)	(0.208)	(0.200)
A-level	0.078	0.095	0.268	0.186	−0.264
	(0.114)	(0.114)	(0.174)	(0.239)	(0.209)
Poor health status	−1.003	−0.958	−1.226**	1.526*	−1.666
	(1.028)	(0.980)	(0.621)	(0.802)	(1.720)
Kids	0.004	0.009	−0.881	0.806	0.208
	(0.256)	(0.260)	(0.550)	(0.793)	(0.331)
Migration background	−0.116	−0.122	−0.223	0.141	−0.413
	(0.126)	(0.125)	(0.184)	(0.223)	(0.282)
Household size	0.018	0.020	0.018	0.065	0.018
	(0.024)	(0.024)	(0.029)	(0.050)	(0.081)
Full-time job	0.074	0.048	0.171	0.402	−0.169
	(0.194)	(0.194)	(0.339)	(0.444)	(0.276)
Part-time job	0.212	0.210	−0.108	0.769**	0.311
	(0.215)	(0.214)	(0.494)	(0.373)	(0.310)
Training facility limited	−0.102***	−0.103***	−0.097***	−0.117**	−0.092*
	(0.023)	(0.023)	(0.033)	(0.049)	(0.048)
Competitions limited	−0.028	−0.026	0.003	−0.120**	−0.030
	(0.024)	(0.024)	(0.033)	(0.050)	(0.048)
COVID-19 infection	0.110	0.111	0.073	0.466	−0.019
	(0.162)	(0.162)	(0.299)	(0.299)	(0.307)
Constant	9.737***	9.729***	7.392***	9.087***	6.848***
	(0.595)	(0.574)	(1.184)	(0.804)	(0.876)
State dummies	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Sport dummies	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Observations	1595	1595	747	449	399
R^2	0.094	0.097	0.144	0.208	0.217

Note: Reference group for squad is perspective/supplement squad, reference group for income shock category is no shock, reference group for age is >23 years old. Robust standard errors are in parentheses.

***p < 0.01, **p < 0.05, *p < 0.1.

Table 3. Regression results of the second step of the mediation analysis and income shock categories models.

Variable	Likelihood of career ending thought		Magnitude of career ending thought
	(6)	(7)	(8)	(9)
	Logit	Logit	OLS	OLS
Income shock	0.218*	—	0.311	—
	(0.132)	—	(0.232)	—
Income shock 0%–10%	—	−0.145	—	−0.086
	—	(0.236)	—	(0.360)
Income shock 11%–30%	—	0.243	—	0.124
	—	(0.185)	—	(0.306)
Income shock 31%–50%	—	0.245	—	0.098
	—	(0.236)	—	(0.370)
Income shock >50%	—	0.526**	—	0.865**
	—	(0.240)	—	(0.434)
Income	−0.003	−0.002	0.003	0.006
	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.006)	(0.007)
Olympic/Paralympic squad	−0.243	−0.240	−0.080	−0.075
	(0.198)	(0.198)	(0.330)	(0.330)
Youth squad 1&2	0.031	0.005	0.201	0.160
	(0.181)	(0.181)	(0.358)	(0.357)
Other squad	−0.141	−0.136	0.366	0.399
	(0.362)	(0.367)	(0.679)	(0.686)
Age <20	−0.751***	−0.704***	−0.907**	−0.817*
	(0.241)	(0.242)	(0.453)	(0.457)
Age 20–23	−0.469***	−0.437***	−0.516*	−0.450
	(0.163)	(0.164)	(0.268)	(0.273)
Female	0.166	0.165	0.308	0.288
	(0.122)	(0.122)	(0.210)	(0.211)
A-level	0.400***	0.387***	0.128	0.124
	(0.145)	(0.145)	(0.248)	(0.249)
Poor health status	−0.676	−0.711	1.035	0.782
	(1.163)	(1.149)	(0.824)	(0.973)
Kids	0.772***	0.766***	0.000	−0.032
	(0.292)	(0.295)	(0.479)	(0.487)
Migration background	0.105	0.117	−0.120	−0.114
	(0.160)	(0.160)	(0.286)	(0.286)
Household size	0.025	0.023	0.017	0.013
	(0.027)	(0.027)	(0.030)	(0.030)
Full-time job	0.404*	0.431*	0.113	0.146
	(0.238)	(0.238)	(0.415)	(0.414)
Part-time job	0.106	0.108	−0.236	−0.220
	(0.249)	(0.250)	(0.473)	(0.469)
Training facility limited	0.080***	0.081***	0.016	0.018
	(0.028)	(0.028)	(0.048)	(0.049)
Competitions limited	0.074**	0.072**	0.115**	0.104*
	(0.032)	(0.032)	(0.054)	(0.055)
COVID-19 infection	−0.032	0.030	−0.166	−0.128
	(0.210)	(0.212)	(0.319)	(0.317)
Constant	0.510	0.490	4.074**	4.417***
	(0.746)	(0.745)	(1.574)	(1.608)
State dummies	YES	YES	YES	YES
Sport dummies	YES	YES	YES	YES
Observations	1563	1563	565	565
Pseudo R^2	0.100	0.102	0.126	0.132

Note: Reference group for squad is Perspective/supplement squad, reference group for income shock category is no shock, reference group for age is >23 years old. Robust standard errors are in parentheses.

***p < 0.01, **p < 0.05, *p < 0.1.

Table 4. Regression results of the career end analyses for the sample split by age.

Variable	Likelihood of career ending thought
	Age <20		Age 20–23		Age >23
	(10)	(11)	(12)	(13)	(14)	(15)
	Logit	Logit	Logit	Logit	Logit	Logit
Income shock	0.180	—	0.221	—	0.206	—
	(0.304)	—	(0.246)	—	(0.220)	—
Income shock 0%–10%	—	−0.242	—	−0.058	—	−0.233
	—	(0.571)	—	(0.444)	—	(0.369)
Income shock 11%–30%	—	0.104	—	0.225	—	0.193
	—	(0.376)	—	(0.355)	—	(0.303)
Income shock 31%–50%	—	−0.526	—	0.493	—	0.447
	—	(0.832)	—	(0.459)	—	(0.378)
Income shock >50%	—	1.705**	—	0.475	---	0.462
	—	(0.772)	—	(0.448)	—	(0.350)
Income	0.018	0.022	0.004	0.004	−0.010**	−0.008*
	(0.014)	(0.015)	(0.006)	(0.006)	(0.005)	(0.005)
Olympic/Paralympic sq.	0.735	0.698	−0.248	−0.250	−0.238	−0.242
	(1.115)	(1.101)	(0.523)	(0.525)	(0.255)	(0.255)
Youth squad 1&2	0.100	0.063	0.401	0.358	−0.475	−0.506
	(0.362)	(0.362)	(0.269)	(0.270)	(0.859)	(0.846)
Other squad	0.040	0.026	0.022	0.099	−0.668	−0.718
	(1.534)	(1.578)	(0.716)	(0.726)	(0.518)	(0.524)
Female	0.340	0.336	−0.068	−0.073	0.008	0.019
	(0.243)	(0.242)	(0.223)	(0.223)	(0.217)	(0.217)
A-level	0.555	0.496	0.502*	0.485*	0.316	0.305
	(0.381)	(0.378)	(0.267)	(0.268)	(0.229)	(0.230)
Poor health status	—	—	—	—	−1.734	−1.806
	—	—	—	—	(1.310)	(1.308)
Kids	—	—	—	—	0.573	0.572
	—	—	—	—	(0.349)	(0.353)
Migration background	0.197	0.161	0.083	0.065	0.186	0.230
	(0.321)	(0.315)	(0.314)	(0.317)	(0.292)	(0.294)
Household size	0.034	0.036	0.009	0.006	0.169	0.157
	(0.037)	(0.038)	(0.053)	(0.054)	(0.114)	(0.115)
Full-time job	0.260	0.006	−0.478	−0.509	0.776**	0.846**
	(0.903)	(1.008)	(0.575)	(0.574)	(0.333)	(0.332)
Part-time job	—	—	−0.250	−0.320	0.452	0.500
	—	—	(0.521)	(0.533)	(0.340)	(0.345)
Training facility lim.	0.056	0.066	0.161***	0.161***	0.051	0.049
	(0.061)	(0.062)	(0.056)	(0.056)	(0.452)	(0.045)
Competitions limited	0.047	0.049	0.092	0.090	0.103	0.102*
	(0.063)	(0.063)	(0.066)	(0.066)	(0.060)	(0.060)
COVID-19 infection	−0.201	−0.243	0.172	0.194	0.056	0.065
	(0.480)	(0.488)	(0.405)	(0.413)	(0.365)	(0.366)
Constant	0.932	0.925	−2.290*	−2.264*	−0.872	−0.815
	(1.158)	(1.146)	(1.327)	(1.328)	(1.169)	(1.199)
State dummies	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Sport dummies	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Observations	491	491	526	526	505	505
Pseudo R^2	0.143	0.152	0.140	0.142	0.096	0.100

Note: Reference group for squad is Perspective/supplement squad, reference group for income shock category is no shock, reference group for age is >23 years old. Robust standard errors are in parentheses.

***p < 0.01, **p < 0.05, *p < 0.1.

Table 5. Regression results of the third step of the mediation analysis.

Variable	Likelihood of career ending thought		Magnitude of career ending thought
	(16)	(17)	(18)	(19)
	Logit	Logit	OLS	OLS
Income shock	0.097	—	0.162	—
	(0.136)	—	(0.227)	—
Income shock 0%–10%	—	−0.169	—	−0.194
	—	(0.239)	—	(0.367)
Income shock 11%–30%	—	0.105	—	−0.036
	—	(0.193)	—	(0.293)
Income shock 31%–50%	—	0.107	—	0.006
	—	(0.248)	—	(0.373)
Income shock >50%	—	0.335	—	0.676
	—	(0.243)	—	(0.420)
Income	−0.002	−0.001	0.004	0.007
	(0.003)	(0.003)	(0.006)	(0.007)
Life satisfaction	−0.269***	−0.266***	−0.195***	−0.192***
	(0.035)	(0.035)	(0.054)	(0.054)
Olympic/Paralympic squad	−0.219	−0.219	−0.078	−0.078
	(0.204)	(0.204)	(0.329)	(0.330)
Youth squad 1&2	−0.071	−0.090	0.095	0.058
	(0.182)	(0.183)	(0.362)	(0.361)
Other squad	−0.270	−0.270	0.304	0.337
	(0.384)	(0.388)	(0.664)	(0.668)
Age <20	−0.678***	−0.643***	−0.904**	−0.816*
	(0.245)	(0.246)	(0.447)	(0.450)
Age 20–23	−0.478***	−0.455***	−0.581**	−0.519*
	(0.169)	(0.169)	(0.266)	(0.270)
Female	0.085	0.084	0.224	0.207
	(0.124)	(0.124)	(0.207)	(0.207)
A-level	0.459***	0.450***	0.169	0.168
	(0.150)	(0.150)	(0.244)	(0.245)
Poor health status	−0.985	−1.017	1.117	0.856
	(1.300)	(1.334)	(0.928)	(1.068)
Kids	0.853***	0.844***	0.043	0.013
	(0.311)	(0.313)	(0.484)	(0.492)
Migration background	0.096	0.102	−0.137	−0.134
	(0.162)	(0.162)	(0.272)	(0.273)
Household size	0.032	0.031	0.026	0.023
	(0.029)	(0.028)	(0.030)	(0.030)
Full-time job	0.466*	0.482*	0.128	0.157
	(0.245)	(0.246)	(0.415)	(0.416)
Part-time job	0.180	0.184	−0.150	−0.139
	(0.260)	(0.261)	(0.460)	(0.458)
Training facility limited	0.056*	0.056*	0.008	0.010
	(0.029)	(0.029)	(0.048)	(0.048)
Competitions limited	0.065**	0.064**	0.100*	0.091*
	(0.033)	(0.032)	(0.053)	(0.054)
COVID-19 infection	0.051	0.050	−0.107	−0.075
	(0.221)	(0.223)	(0.316)	(0.313)
Constant	2.484***	2.444***	5.942***	6.196***
	(0.802)	(0.803)	(1.704)	(1.741)
State dummies	YES	YES	YES	YES
Sport dummies	YES	YES	YES	YES
Observations	1563	1563	565	565
Pseudo R^2	0.132	0.133	0.149	0.154

Note: Reference group for squad is Perspective/supplement squad, reference group for age is >23 years old. Robust standard errors are in parentheses.

***p < 0.01, **p < 0.05, *p < 0.1.