On the Road to Redemption: A Case Study of Triathlon Participation and Substance Use Recovery Stories

Although sport participation holds potential to facilitate substance use recovery, the role of sport and links to identity transformation are contentious. Using an instrumental and intrinsic case study, we used narrative inquiry to explore autobiographies as cultural sites of analysis in relation to the role that one sport (i.e., triathlon) plays in substance use recovery. We conducted a social constructionist narrative thematic analysis of four public autobiography sources (e.g., one book and three documentary films) chronicling one man’s 27-year journey of substance use recovery using recreational triathlon. A central narrative threaded the substance use recovery process: redemption narrative. Redemption narrative meaning(s) unfolded in distinct ways depending on identity themes: (a) athlete to triathlete: (re)creating a non-substance-using identity and (b) generative athlete: claiming a sober identity. The redemption stories and shifting identities were connected to recovery capital resources: human (e.g., mental health and life perspective), social (e.g., community belonging), and cultural (e.g., appreciation of new meanings connected with triathlon). This study extends work in sport psychology focusing on athlete autobiographies as research and pedagogical resources to learn more about the role of sport in substance use recovery. We provide reflections on findings, recommendations for practitioners, and future research directions.