From Michael Jordan to Usain Bolt, a select few elite athletes have attempted the switch to another top-level sport in a trait psychologists see as a “high need to achieve” coupled with filling a gulf in their lives.
Sprint king Bolt is the latest example, with the eight-time Olympic champion on a mission to become a professional footballer, trying out with Australian team Central Coast Mariners after retiring from track and field.
It is a boyhood dream for the 32-year-old Jamaican, who remains the 100m world record holder.
But his abilities have been questioned, with the fitness levels and skill-sets needed for soccer very different from being the fastest man on earth.
