Abstract

FERREIRA, R.M.  and  MORAES, L.C.. Family influence in the first phase of the career development of Brazilian swimmers Olympic medalists. Motri. [online]. 2012, vol.8, n.2, pp.42-51. ISSN 1646-107X.  https://doi.org/10.6063/motricidade.8(2).711.

Family presence and support are extremely important factors for an athlete at all stages of development, especially during the transitional stages of the athlete´s career. The objective of this study was to analyze the role of the family for competitive swimmers in relation to the types of support and/or influence those families have during the first stage of the athlete's career. Eight swimmers who have won an Olympic medal composed this study. A semi-structured interview script requiring deep retrospective answers from the athletes was used. The data was analyzed using Meaning Units (MUs). Results show that during the beginning of their careers, the athletes received mostly emotional and financial support from their families. Even though this is an historic study, it was concluded that the presence of the family represents a fundamental role in the development of the majority of the swimmers analyzed.

Keywords : Olympic swimmers; family; development.

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