Edinburgh Napier University

  Developing athlete talents into professional successful athletes has been a challenge across various nations, sports, and cultures. While research has flourished and strived to determine how talents are being identified and developed including the challenges that such talented athletes face when moving from an amateur to an elite level, it is only recently that research studies have looked into the contextual influence of the environment in which these athletes are being developed and progress. To provide an original and novel contribution to this stream of research, a unique triathlon environment consisted of multinational athletes was chosen as our key research area. Following a qualitative case study approach involving interviews of relevant, our study answers three key research questions: What are the characteristics of an environment that facilitates athletes to achieve excellence? What are the key considerations when selecting an athlete? How do athletes in a transition phase experience such phase? Findings reveal key considerations regarding the selection of athletes, the complexities of long-term talent development, and the use of challenges as a mechanism for development. Managerial and theoretical implications are set out including future research paths.