Identifying the Challenges Facing Elite Athletes in Selected Individual Sports (A Phenomenological Approach)

Elite athletes face many challenges during their career. These challenges must be managed successfully. This study aimed to identify the challenges of athletes at the level of elite sports. For this purpose, a qualitative research method with a phenomenological strategy based on the Husserl approach was used. In this regard, 21 elite athletes were interviewed using a purposive sampling method, then the collected data were analyzed with the MAXQDA software, version 2020. The results showed 10 underlying categories of athletes' challenges, namely personal challenges, financial challenges, discrimination, retirement challenges, challenges with coaches, challenges with sports managers, social challenges, challenges related to facilities and sports equipment, challenges of sending to competitions and challenges of camps. Therefore, it is suggested that to reduce these challenges, management (the management of  a club, Ministry of Sports, National Olympic Committee) as the highest and most effective element of an organization, from now on, should be diligent in three scenes: economic (effective in improving facilities and financial obstacles of athletes and their coaches), the psychological (effective in improving the individual challenges of athletes), the organizational justice (to eliminate any discrimination). In addition, initiatives to eliminate them might lead to excellence in performance, flourish of potentials, and increase of the pride of athletes at the international level.Therefore, it is suggested that in order to reduce these challenges, management (the management of a club, Ministry of Sports, National Olympic Committee) as the highest and most effective element of an organization, from now on, should be diligent in three scenes: economic front (effective in improving facilities and financial obstacles of athletes and their coaches), the psychological front (effective in improving the individual challenges of athletes), the organizational justice front (to eliminate any discrimination). Also, initiatives to eliminate them might lead to excellence in performance, flourish of potentials, and increase the pride of athletes at the international level.