As I am writing this commentary on "The Experience of Depression during Careers of Elite Male Athletes" by Doherty et al. (2016) concurrently with the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the topicality of the paper is felicitous. A number of prominent Olympians, both male and female, have openly come out in the popular media and discussed their personal battles with depression, including English Gardener (USA; track & field), Jack Green (UK; track & field), Michael Phelps (USA; swimming), and Allison Schmitt (USA; swimming) to name a few (Frank, 2016; Murphy, 2016; Powers, 2016; Schnell, 2016). These personal accounts highlight the importance of recognizing that elite athletes, who, like the population at large, are not immune to mental health problems (Rice et al., 2016).
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