Then imagine returning to your daily life — acclimatising to the everyday mundanity of bills, returning to your day job, and resuming household chores.

What happens when the crowds stop screaming and you have to deal with the shift back to ordinary life?

Now that the the Olympic Games have come to a close, those of us who’ve been watching the excitement — and possibly experienced vicarious satisfaction — may also experience a sense of emptiness.

However, it’s nothing compared to the void many Olympic athletes will experience in the aftermath of the Games.

For athletes returning home from the Olympics, their journey is usually accompanied by a radical change in environment and considerable physical and mental shifts.

A different climate, different sights and smells, and the lack of excited echoes in anticipation-filled arenas.

Suddenly, the hype surrounding an athlete’s performance diminishes and their intense training schedule reverts to normal as their bodies recover.

For athletes, the build-up to the Olympic Games is a four-year cycle — demanding huge personal and professional sacrifices, and bringing with it an enormous amount of pressure.

The event itself is an experience of sensory overload — the huge crowds and deafening noise. Add to that the pressure of performing on the global stage and, for a fortnight at least, the celebrity status that comes with being an Olympic athlete.

Some athletes thrive in such an environment, particularly on home turf. But, for others, it can be a nightmare experience

Even veteran Olympic athletes, such as US gymnast and 11-time Olympic medallist Simone Biles and former US swimmer Michael Phelps — the most successful and decorated swimmer of all time — have opened up about their post-Olympic blues.

Looking back, Phelps said in May 2024: “2004 was my first taste of post-Olympic depression, you know, coming off such a high.”

British artistic gymnast and Olympic bronze medallist Nile Wilson has spoken publicly about his experience of Olympic comedown.

“Comedown” is a term usually associated with withdrawal from stimulant drugs. However, the feelings experienced by athletes are not so different.

The high that athletes get from their sport has been linked to the release of adrenaline.

The "Olympic comedown" is a response to the "high" that is experienced from the release of adrenaline during the Games.

Adrenaline addiction is often connected to extreme sport participants, but studies have shown that addictive disorders — including alcohol, drugs, and gambling — can affect athletes across a range of sports.

Success can become like a drug to elite athletes. 

Unfortunately for some, the high from winning and the attention may be replaced with other addictions once the competition is over

Athletes report feeling like “rock stars” — one professional wrestler commented that “there’s no better drug” than their sport.

Prolonged media attention can delay a bout of post-Olympic blues. However, for many athletes retiring from elite sport altogether, this transition from feeling like a celebrity to becoming a regular person again can present a significant risk to their psychological health and wellbeing.

Replacing the sporting experience with something constructive can be a challenge.

Many athletes have a strong but narrow sense of identity, what they do is a huge part of who they are.

Once athletes return from the Olympics, they may experience an existential crisis — asking themselves “what now?” or “what does all this mean?”

However, this doesn’t have to be a negative experience. Studies have demonstrated that when athletes stop their sport, it can be an opportunity for reflection, clarification of values, and a search for alternative ways of living.

Preparing the mind and body to wind down for one’s health is just as important as psyching up to perform

A 2022 study reported that this sort of preparation and athlete support is still lacking.

Days before 800m runner Keely Hodgkinson won a gold medal in Paris, she opened up about experiencing depression after coming second and “only” winning a silver four years earlier at the Tokyo Games, saying: “I didn’t realise Olympic comedown was actually a big thing.”

Post-event slumps don’t just affect Olympians, though. We can all experience depression after a long build-up to an important life event.

While the following coping strategies were suggested by elite sportspeople to help other athletes ward off post-competition depression, they could be helpful for anyone trying to navigate their way through the blues after a big event.

The first step is to accept that you know the goal is finished, then take time off to enjoy and celebrate what you have achieved.

Reflect on what went well, what didn’t go so well, and what you enjoyed. 

Most importantly, make a list of the pleasurable things you missed out on while preparing for the event – so maybe going to the movies, having more free time to devote to hobbies, friends, and family, or going to the beach. Then, during your time off after the event, make an effort to go and do those things.

Filling your life with meaningful activities after a big event can help all of us deal with comedown, whether we’re Olympic rock stars or ordinary folk.

• Helen Owton is a lecturer in sport and fitness at the Open University School of Education, Childhood, Youth, and Sport. This article appeared in The Conversation, a news and analysis website written by academics.