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Extreme Sport, Identity, and Well-Being: A Case Study and Narrative Approach
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DOI: 10.1123/cssep.2019-0031

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Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2020, 4, S1-8–S1-16
https://doi.org/10.1123/cssep.2019-0031
© 2020 Human Kinetics, Inc. CASE STUDY 2

Extreme Sport, Identity, and Well-Being:

A Case Study and Narrative Approach to Elite Skyrunning
Kerry R. McGannon and Lara Pomerleau-Fontaine Jenny McMahon
Laurentian University University of Tasmania

Although extreme-sport athletes’ experiences have been explored in sport psychology, more research is needed to understand the
nuanced identity meanings for these athletes in the context of health and well-being. A case-study approach grounded in narrative
inquiry was used to explore identity meanings of 1 elite extreme-sport athlete (i.e., skyrunner Kilian Jornet) in relation to well-
being. Data gleaned from 4 documentary films and 10 autobiographical book chapters describing the Summits of My Life project
were subjected to a thematic narrative analysis. Two intersecting narratives—discovery and relational—threaded the summits
project and were used by Jornet to construct an “ecocentric” identity intertwined with nature in fluid ways, depending on
3 relationships related to well-being: the death of climbing partner Stéphane Brosse, team members’ shared values, and her
relationship with partner Emelie Forsberg. An expansion of identity, health, and well-being research on extreme-sport athletes
beyond simplistic portrayals of them as pathological risk takers and/or motivated by personality traits was gained from these
findings.

Keywords: adventure sport, athlete identity, narrative inquiry, qualitative

In the past 20 years, there has been an increase participation in
extreme sport and research on extreme-sport participants’ experi-
ences (Houge Mackenzie & Brymer, 2018). While the definition of
what constitutes extreme sport is a contested one, the term gener-
ally refers to sports that carry a high degree of risk, whereby an
error or accident—no matter how small—could result in harm,
injury, or death (Buckley, 2018; Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017).
Extreme sports are deemed “risky” because they are carried out in
the natural environment (e.g., mountains, water) and often without
protective equipment (e.g., ropes, harness; Houge Mackenzie &
Brymer, 2018). Extreme-sport activities may include Building,
Antennae, Space, Earth (BASE) jumping, big wave surfing, sky-
diving, waterfall kayaking, mountaineering, extreme skiing, and
rope-free climbing (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017; Buckley, 2018).
The focus on extreme-sport athletes is pertinent to this special
issue on athlete mental health, as researchers have explored
extreme-sport athletes’ motivations and experiences in relation
to mental health and well-being (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017,
2013a; Willig, 2008). Researchers have shown that, depending on
the way in which extreme-sport motivation is theorized, athlete
mental health can be placed on a continuum ranging from the
pathological to the promotion of psychological health (Brymer &
Scweitzer, 2013a; Kerr & Houge Mackenzie, 2018). An example of
the former comes from dominant psychological perspectives focus-
ing on deviant pathological personality traits that drive extreme-
sport athletes to put their health at risk (Houge Mackenzie &
Brymer, 2018). Examples of this work include high-sensation/thrill
seekers who have a personality trait that compels them to perform
risky extreme sport to experience an adrenaline rush and thrill,
McGannon and Pomerleau-Fontaine are with the School of Human Kinetics,
Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada. McMahon is with the Faculty of
Education, University of Tasmania, Launceston, TAS, Australia. McGannon
(kmcgannon@laurentian.ca) is corresponding author.
S1-8
regardless of the risk of harm or death (Toffler, Hyatt, &
Toffler, 2018).
Researchers have further pathologized extreme-sport partici-
pants (e.g., high-altitude mountaineers) as having an unhealthy
narcissistic tendency in which risk and fear are denied, resulting in
“overestimating abilities and accomplishments, and offering con-
sistently self-serving explanations for successes and failures”
(Elmes & Barry, 1999, p. 165). Other researchers have suggested
that extreme-sport participants have emotional deficiencies that
result in an inability to have close relationships with others
(Woodman, Hardy, Barlow, & Le Scanff, 2010).
At the other end of the health continuum, qualitative research-
ers in leisure studies and sport psychology have shown that
extreme-sport participation enhances mental health and well-being
(Brymer & Schweitzer, 2013a; Willig, 2008). This work has been
used by researchers to problematize the aforementioned perspec-
tives as limited in scope due to characterizing extreme-sport
participation as a form of pathology and/or character flaw wherein
a “death wish” is centralized for thrills and/or self-serving needs
(Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017). Examples of this work come from
phenomenological research (i.e., focusing on detailed aspects of
extreme-sport phenomena and intertwined experiences), wherein
researchers have shown that extreme-sport motives include goal
accomplishment, social connections, overcoming fear and anxiety,
and positive feelings (e.g., excitement, calmness) experienced
during and after extreme-sport activities (Brymer & Schweitzer,
2013a; Houge Mackenzie & Brymer, 2018; Willig, 2008). Re-
searchers using phenomenology in sport psychology have further
shown that these athletes (i.e., mountaineers) have honed concen-
tration and mental toughness, which prepares them to make life-
saving decisions in risky conditions rather than taking risks for
thrills or overestimating capabilities to place themselves or others
at risk (Crust, Swann & Allen-Collinson, 2016, 2019).
Researchers in leisure studies grounding their work in phe-
nomenology have explored extreme-sport participation as being

intertwined with athletic identity in ways that lead to self-
transformation and enhanced well-being. From this perspective,
athletes realize life meaning in extreme-sport environments and
develop courage and humility as parts of who they are (Brymer &
Oades, 2009). Feelings of freedom and self–environment connec-
tion are also aspects of identity (Brymer & Gray, 2009; Brymer &
Schweitzer, 2013b). These aspects of athletic identity intertwine
with positive mind-set and behavior, particularly in terms of
how the environment is approached, as respected or “more
than” oneself rather than recklessly or as some “thing” to be
conquered (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017). Relevant to the present
study is research using a case-study approach to detail nuanced
aspects of athlete mental health by exploring personal-development
accounts in extreme-sport athletes. Kerr’s (2007) case study
of an expert skydiver found that her emotional and mental health
were compromised after the death of a skydiving friend, and
she withdrew from the sport. These findings can be used to
highlight the importance of attending to relationship connections
(e.g., social/relational) for extreme-sport athletes, particularly for
sport psychology consultants who work with these athletes. Kerr
and Houge Mackenzie (2018) also conducted a case study of
an expert skydiver and BASE jumper whose participation and
personal development were identified as intertwined through rela-
tional connections and self-connection to nature. The findings of
this case study can be used to expand understanding of how
extreme-sport athletes negotiate loss of social connection via
self-reflection and risk awareness rather than through denial of
risk and lack of relationship connection, as suggested in dominant
perspectives that focus on personality.
The qualitative-research findings on extreme-sport participa-
tion have been used to expand understanding of extreme-sport
participation, motivation, self-development, health, and well-being
in sport psychology. Despite the promise that this work shows, this
research is in its infancy, with more work needed to understand the
complexity of mental health of extreme-sport athletes (Kerr &
Houge Mackenzie, 2018; Houge Mackenzie & Brymer, 2018). In
addition, the majority of extreme-sport research has focused
on recreational participants, with fewer studies looking at elite
athletes (i.e., performing at national/international level, among the
best in their sport in a globally competitive pool of athletes, success
evidence such as medals and/or high placements; Swann, Moran, &
Piggott, 2015). Qualitative research on identity by Brymer and
colleagues shows promise for learning more about elite extreme-
sport participants, but such work has yet to be expanded into sport
psychology. Expanding this work into sport psychology holds
potential for learning more about the nuanced aspects of elite
extreme-sport participation and health-positive and -negative as-
pects, which have been less explored in sport psychology in the
context of identity. These points are underscored by recent calls
for additional theories and qualitative methodologies that move
beyond postpositivist conceptions of extreme-sport athletes as
deviant and/or driven by personality traits, to tease out the nuanced
aspects of extreme-sport participation, self-identity, and well-being
(Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017).
Kilian Jornet and Summits of My Life
One way to expand qualitative research on extreme sport, identity,
and well-being is to focus on the story of one high-profile elite
extreme-sport athlete—skyrunner and ski mountaineer Kilian
Jornet. Skyrunning involves running mountains of altitudes over
2,000 m and minimum 30% incline, without equipment and
CSSEP Vol. 4, No. S1, 2020
Extreme Sport, Identity, and Well-Being S1-9
minimal gear to run freely in mountainous environments. It attracts
over 50,000 athletes from 65 different countries competing in
200 races worldwide (International Skyrunning Federation, 2019).
Jornet was born on October 27, 1987, in Sabadell, Catalonia, Spain,
and is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished sky-
runners, long-distance trail runners, and ski mountaineers in the
world. He grew up in the mountains, traversing them from 3 years
of age with his parents and sister. At the age of 13, he began
competing in skyrunning and ski-mountaineering races, winning
numerous elite-level competitions by 25 years of age. Career
highlights include being four-time world champion in ski moun-
taineering, 10-time winner of the Skyrunner World Series, and
three-time winner of the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc race (Jornet,
n.d.-a). In light of these accomplishments, Jornet has reached
celebrity status in mountaineering, distance-running communities,
and beyond. His social media accounts underscore this point, as
Jornet has over 300,000 Twitter followers (Jornet, n.d.-c) and over
850,000 Instagram followers (Jornet, n.d.-b).
The Summits of My Life project first took shape at the end of
the 2011 racing season, when Jornet questioned his intrinsic
motivation despite his performance success. As he reflected on
his past dreams, he remembered a picture of the Matterhorn posted
in his bedroom and imagining reaching the top (Jornet, 2018). He
then selected seven summits to climb for their history, with the
overarching goal to establish the fastest known time for ascending
and descending each of the summits “freely” (i.e., using minimal
equipment). Jornet also conceived the project as a way to redis-
cover his connection with mountains and forge new life experi-
ences. Four documentary films were produced for the Summits of
My Life spanning 5.5 years (i.e., 2012–2017) during which
Jornet’s physical and mental challenges, relationships forged,
and challenging landscapes of the summits journey were featured.
Purpose and Research Questions
The purpose of the present study was to use a case-study approach
grounded in a novel theoretical perspective (i.e., narrative inquiry)
to explore elite extreme-sport participation in the context of identity
and well-being. Through a case-study approach grounded in
narrative inquiry, we sought to analyze the personal and public
stories in Jornet’s Summits of My Life project. The following
research questions guided the study:
RQ1: What narratives are drawn on to construct self-identity
meanings in relation to extreme sport in the Summits of My Life
project?
RQ2: How are self-identity meanings identified connected
with well-being meanings in the narratives identified?
Theoretical Perspective: Narrative Inquiry
To contextualize our analysis, a discussion of the theoretical
approach used to ground and interpret the findings is necessary.
Narrative inquiry is a theoretical approach used in sport psychology
to learn about athlete identities by studying stories (Carless &
Douglas, 2013; Douglas & Carless, 2015; McGannon, Tatarnic, &
McMahon, 2019). In narrative inquiry, stories are prioritized as
sites of analysis because people use them to make sense of who
they are (i.e., self-identities) and, in so doing, draw on narratives
made socially and culturally available (Smith & Sparkes, 2009). In
this sense narratives—and the stories told within them—are studied
as resources and actors because they have the capacity to do things;
S1-10 McGannon, Pomerleau-Fontaine, and McMahon
narratives shape identities, experiences, and behavior through
telling and witnessing of stories (Smith & Sparkes, 2009). The
present study was grounded in a relativist ontology and social-
constructionist epistemology, with narratives viewed as construct-
ing self-identity, in contrast to self-identity being conceptualized in
the mind of the individual in postpositivism (McGannon & Smith,
2015; Smith & Sparkes, 2009). In relativist narrative inquiry, the
focus therefore “shifts from selves and identities as individualistic,
real, and interior-based, to them being constructions derived from
narratives and performed in relationships” (Smith & Sparkes
2009, p. 5).
Given these assumptions, the present case study of Jornet’s
Summits of My Life journey focused on commercially produced
storied accounts (e.g., documentary films, autobiographical book)
told by a single narrator (i.e., Jornet). Using relativist narrative
inquiry and a social-constructionist epistemology, we viewed
Jornet’s self-stories as rich textual resources that connected identi-
ties to the sociocultural realm rather than providing windows
into his “true” identity and life (Sparkes & Stewart, 2016). Study-
ing autobiographical stories in this manner to explore athlete
identity in extreme sport adds to a growing body of work by sport
psychology researchers who study commercially produced auto-
biographical stories to learn more about elite athletes’ mental health
(e.g., Howells & Fletcher, 2015; McGannon & McMahon, 2019;
McGannon et al., 2019; Newman, Howells & Fletcher, 2016).
Autobiographies of recognizable athletes’ lives can also be useful
pedagogical resources, as they can facilitate reflections in listeners
through public disclosure and witness of difficult-to-access topics
(Sparkes & Stewart, 2016) such as elite extreme sport and well-
being (Brymer & Scweitzer, 2017).
Methodology
Using narrative inquiry to study autobiographical stories as “cases”
has the potential to expand theoretical understanding of contentious
meanings of elite extreme-sport athletes’ identities and well-being
(Brymer & Scweitzer, 2017). The Summits of My Life project
formed two case-study types—intrinsic and instrumental—based
on Stake’s (2005) general classification. An intrinsic case study
allows for insight into a unique case, opening understanding into
phenomena never seen before (Stake, 2005). The Summits of
My Life project also served as an instrumental case study, which
facilitates “instrumental” forms of theoretical generalization
(i.e., shows the value of narrative inquiry for understanding
extreme sport and well-being) and generativity (i.e., people witness
extreme sport in new ways through Jornet’s stories; Smith, 2018).
Studying Jornet’s stories in this manner aligns with calls by
Cotterill and Schinke (2017), who noted the utility of studying
focused cases with a unique and vibrant storytelling approach to
enhance theory and practice.
Situating the Authors
The knowledge produced throughout the project was the result of
three co-authors of varying backgrounds and years of experience
working toward the goal of expanding understanding of extreme
sport and the nuanced aspects of athlete mental health. The first
author is an avid recreational runner, has over 20 years of experi-
ence as a qualitative researcher, and has published extensively on
critical interpretations of athlete identities in the context of well-
being and health. As a media researcher and consumer of mediated
athlete stories, this author was drawn to Jornet’s story after
CSSEP Vol. 4, No. S1, 2020
following him on social media and in light of personal connections
with running in the outdoors. Having also grown up in a moun-
tainous region of Canada, this author was further drawn to Jornet’s
story as a source of inspiration and wanted to know more about it
as told through the Summits journey. The second author was an
undergraduate student in sport psychology and university team-
sport athlete who worked on the project as a part of an undergrad-
uate thesis. This author was drawn to Jornet’s Summits of My Life
story given her own experiences with the highs and lows of sport,
particularly in the last year of her athletic career, and wanted to
further understand elite-athlete motivation. The third author is a
former elite athlete with over 15 years of experience as a coach and
a current PhD researcher in qualitative research related to sport
contexts that enhance, or detract from, health and well-being. This
author was drawn to Jornet’s story due to personal experiences of
having suffered abuse in sport at a young age, which had also led to
performance and mental-health struggles into adulthood. Having
overcome these, this co-author found the complex aspects of
Jornet’s journey of negotiating risk in the context of elite extreme
sport compelling. Ultimately, none of the co-authors are extreme-
sport athletes; we positioned ourselves as cultural outsiders with a
vested interest in a critical exploration of Jornet’s journey in
relation to mental health, given our own experiences with men-
tal-health aspects of performance.
Data Collection
To answer the research questions, data were collected from the four
films and the Summits of My Life book. The first film, The Fine Line
(Jornet & Montaz-Rosset, 2012), focused on Jornet’s two ascents of
Mont Blanc, the first from the west to the east side of the mountain
and the second from the south to the north side. Dejame Vivir
(Jornet & Montaz-Rosset, 2014) was the second film, which
showed his ascents of the Matterhorn, Mount Elbrus, and the
Denali and Aconcagua summits. The third film, Langtang
(Jornet & Montaz-Rosset, 2015), documented a short pause from
the project when Jornet’s team aided the people in Langtang, Nepal,
after an earthquake. In the final film, Path to Everest (Jornet,
Montaz-Rosset., & Serra, 2018), Jornet recalls his two ascents to
Mount Everest in 1 week without oxygen. A book titled The
Summits of My Life (Jornet, 2018) detailed the history of the
summits, Jornet’s self-reflections, and his mental and physical
preparation throughout the journey. The project was highly publi-
cized on social media (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and
promoted by Jornet’s sponsor, Salomon Sports. Each film was
purchased by the first and second authors and watched multiple
times. The first three films were 50 min, and the last film was
90 min, totaling 240 min. The Summits of My Life book was
purchased and read by the first and second authors, with all 10
chapters (totaling 201 pages) scanned and converted into Microsoft
Word files.
Thematic Narrative Analysis
In relativist narrative inquiry, researchers may adopt a story-analyst
or storyteller approach (Smith, 2016; Smith & Sparkes, 2009).
When one is operating as story analyst, the story and the narratives
that frame it become the objects of study, with narratives placed
under analysis and findings communicated in the form of a realist
tale to produce an analytical account of narratives. Another way of
doing narrative inquiry is to operate as a storyteller, whereby the
analysis is the story communicated in the form of a creative

analytical practice to produce a tale as a story in evocative and
accessible forms such as autoethnography (i.e., personal self-story)
and creative nonfiction (i.e., story created from participant data and
themes; Smith, 2016). Given that we were interested in placing
Jornet’s Summits of My Life stories under analysis, a story-analyst
approach was deemed appropriate to answer the research questions,
using thematic narrative analysis (Smith, 2016). Thematic narrative
analysis aligns with relativist assumptions of narrative inquiry,
whereby steps focus on the identification of stories and identities
formed in the context of narratives that frame them. This ontologi-
cal and epistemological awareness aligns with contemporary views
of rigor concerning methodological coherence (McGannon, Smith,
Kendellen & Gonsalves, 2019; Smith & McGannon, 2018).
The first and second authors conducted the analysis using six
steps recommended by Smith (2016). To enhance rigor, we ensured
“meaningful coherence” (e.g., methods and procedures align with
research goals) by viewing the steps as characterizing traits, which
was done in a cyclical manner rather than in a linear, fixed manner
(Smith, 2016), to identify the themes/patterns in the stories. In the
first and second steps, stories were gathered from the four docu-
mentary films and 10 book chapters (Step 1), and film transcrip-
tions and scanned book chapters were converted into Microsoft
Word files (Step 2; Smith, 2016). Focusing on these multiple rich
forms of data also aligns with a form of rigor known as “credibility”
(McGannon et al., 2019). The third step involved “narrative
indwelling,” with the films viewed multiple times and notes
recorded, and the book being read and notes made, in order to
think with, rather than about, the stories in relation to the research
questions (Smith, 2016). In Step 4, the co-authors met multiple
times as “critical friends” (Smith & McGannon, 2018) to open up
dialogue, provide a sounding board to explore multiple interpreta-
tions, and enhance rigor of the analytical process (McGannon et al.,
2019). This process involved our discussing notes each had made
and refining narrative threads running across the summits project.
In Step 5, passages were further highlighted and linked with
key phrases and ideas, along with our continuing to write notes on
the side of the documents to summarize content and meanings. To
facilitate this process, we asked ourselves what theme(s) or
thread(s) occur consistently and repeatedly and what twists/turns
mark a key transition in the story (Smith, 2016). The process in
Steps 4 and 5 involved intensive writing to identify similarities and
changes in meanings within and across the stories in relation to
Jornet’s summits journey, to establish common narrative themes
(Smith, 2016). In the sixth step, the themes and linked passages
from the “data” sources (i.e., film excerpts, book chapters and
passages, co-authors’ notes) were interpreted by engaging with
sport psychology, cultural studies, and leisure studies literature on
extreme-sport participation. By using these steps attuned to the
foregoing outlined forms of rigor, we produced a rigorous form of
narrative research (Smith, 2016).
Findings and Discussion
The sixth step of the thematic narrative analysis is shown under two
central narratives that were identified as threading the Summits of
My Life stories: discovery narrative and relational narrative. In a
discovery narrative, Jornet’s identity was constructed as “eco-
centric” (i.e., deep connection with self, intertwined nature, and
respect for the environment) and linked to well-being. The mean-
ings of Jornet’s identity and connection with well-being were
shown to shift within a relational narrative in which key relation-
ships were featured (i.e., friend Stéphane, teammates, and partner
CSSEP Vol. 4, No. S1, 2020
Extreme Sport, Identity, and Well-Being S1-11
Emelie). The key aspects of the discovery narrative will be out-
lined, followed by the relational narrative features. Both narratives
will be discussed in the context of ecocentric identity construction
and fluid well-being meanings during the summits journey.
Discovery-Narrative Theme
A discovery narrative threaded throughout Kilian Jornet’s Summits
of My Life stories, in which extreme sport was positioned as a
conduit to meaningful connections with others, places, and experi-
ences (Carless & Douglas, 2013). In a discovery-narrative plot, self-
discovery and connecting with the present moment for enjoyment
are also emphasized as being more important than performance
and winning competitions and medals and/or breaking records
(Douglas & Carless, 2015; McGannon et al., 2019). This focus
on process over outcome and diverse sporting possibilities in a
discovery narrative have been shown by researchers to be associated
with enhanced psychological health and well-being, such as per-
sonal growth and passion for sport (Carless & Douglas, 2013;
McGannon et al., 2019). These aspects of the discovery narrative
have also been shown in research on extreme-sport athletes who
develop a connection with the environment and diverse meanings of
“freedom” (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2013b). When in the natural
environment doing extreme-sport activities, there is freedom of
movement, freedom as letting go of the need for control, freedom
from societal constraints, and freedom as being one with nature
(Brymer & Gray, 2009; Brymer & Schweitzer, 2013b).
The aforementioned characteristics of a discovery narrative
were evident early in the Summits journey shown in the first movie,
The Fine Line, and first book chapter, when Jornet outlined a career
crossroads and noted he was compromising his mental health in
his story:
It was after all that when I began to feel depressed. It might
seem silly; I’d been at the top of the competitive world for
years, but I knew that even at such a high level, what I was
truly capable of went beyond what was being asked of me in
competition. So much so that I felt I was missing out on
opportunities to really discover myself, to do new things that
would allow me to open myself up to experiences in a new
way. (Jornet, 2018, p. 4)
In the preceding example, “narrative tensions” are shown between
the dominant performance narrative in sport and “discovery narra-
tive.” Life stories in a performance narrative for athletes follow a
plotline of linear path of actions centering on rigid training and bodily
and life sacrifice for a singular athletic identity focused on high-
performance goals, excluding other life pursuits (e.g., relationships,
nonperformance goals, outside interests; Carless & Douglas, 2013;
Douglas & Carless, 2015). Narrative tensions are evident in a story
when a storyteller becomes conflicted with the conditions of daily life
and plot of a dominant narrative (Carless & Douglas, 2013). When
athletes frame their identities and lives primarily in a performance
narrative, mental health and well-being can be negatively affected
(McGannon et al., 2019; Newman et al., 2016), as shown when
Jornet reflected on success, which had become a singular focus,
within a performance narrative.
By drawing on a discovery narrative in the story, Jornet spoke
of challenging the constraints of a performance narrative that had
negatively affected his mental health and rediscovering his child-
hood roots, coping with his career crossroads by conceiving the
Summits project. The values grounding the project can also be
connected to the construction of an “ecocentric identity” in a
S1-12 McGannon, Pomerleau-Fontaine, and McMahon
discovery narrative plot of Jornet’s Summits story. An ecoentric
identity in this regard was constructed as intertwined with nature,
personal growth, and self-transformation in a free but humble
manner that respects the environment (Brymer & Oades, 2009):
We’re going to the mountain without aid, without assistance,
without external help. We’re going humbly, without seeking to
best the mountain because we know it will always be stronger,
and we will go as far as it lets us. We’ll learn to live with the
mountain, the very rocks themselves, the plants, and the ice—
whatever lies underneath the surface, whatever was there
before us and will continue on there after us. (Jornet, 2018, p. 9)
As Jornet’s Summits journey unfolded, his ecocentric identity
and associated meanings of environmental connection, humility
and respect, personal growth, and transformation as an athlete and
person were also constructed in the story in new ways related to
emotional well-being (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2013a). These points
are shown in the initial values of the project linked with outcome
goals (i.e., fastest known time), which were storied by Jornet as
prioritizing positive emotions (Willig, 2008), shown after he
climbed the Mont Blanc summits in the first film and was engaged
in the moment when drawing on a discovery plot in the Sum-
mits story:
I feel truly happy. I’ve completed a challenge that inspires a
new sense of hope in me. The weather has been on my side
during the entire journey, and I feel like I’m in top physical
form. After I conquered the glacier and the rappel section, the
good conditions have allowed me to truly enjoy the spectacular
natural beauty all around me, so much so that it’s only after
these first moments that I have a surprise realization: I’ve set a
record time. (Jornet, 2018, p. 53)
The identification of a discovery narrative in our analysis also
allows us to draw attention to research that has linked health and
well-being to extreme-sport participation (Brymer & Schweitzer,
2013a; Willig, 2008), expanding the possibility for extreme-sport
participation to be storied in ways other than sensation and risk
seeking and/or related to unhealthy pathology and a death wish.
These points are further shown when Jornet noted being emotion-
ally engaged, yet risk aware, when descending the Matterhorn in
the second film and third book chapter:
I turn around and start the descent. The descent is a whole new
bundle of emotions in itself. The grades are unbelievable, and I
don’t want to take any more risk than necessary, but I take
advantage of the seconds I’ve shaved off the ascent to make
sure I enjoy each and every step, the sensation of each
individual muscle in my body tensing up in the perfect
sequence, the beautiful weather, and the people that I come
across on my way who wave, yell, and cheer me on. (Jornet,
2018, p. 79)
Relational-Narrative Theme
Similar to a discovery narrative, accounts of key relationships
anchored Jornet’s stories in a relational narrative (Douglas &
Carless, 2015). In this narrative, the plot of the Summits project
was explicitly driven by Jornet’s goal of being on the journey with,
and for, others (Carless & Douglas, 2013; McGannon et al., 2019).
These relational-narrative features were shown when Jornet
emphasized the shared, rather than solitary, emotions and values
that grounded the journey and intertwined with the mountains:
CSSEP Vol. 4, No. S1, 2020
Shared emotions don’t add up; they multiply. A summit isn’t a
geographic point, a date, and a time. Each summit is a
warehouse of memories and emotions. It’s the people who
accompanied us and those who waited for us at the bottom. We
are all the people that we love and admire, those who go with
us without ever being there. (Jornet, 2018, p. 6)
The features of a relational narrative were further shown
when Jornet discussed meeting performance goals (e.g., breaking
time records) in the Summits journey as a by-product that benefit-
ted and/or provided enjoyment for others, rather for his own
benefit, performance, and accolades. These points are exemplified
in the book after Jornet broke the record for descending the
Matterhorn alongside his idol Bruno Brunod, who previously held
the record:
It’s magic. I’m running beside my hero, sharing in his kindness
and in his humility. Even now I still can’t quite find the words
to capture it. . . . I’ll never forget Bruno’s joy or his generosity
in sharing his experience, wisdom, and advice. Hitting this
mark and doing it this way makes me feel like Bruno, and it’s
an honor. It is the most valuable memory I take from this
experience. (Jornet, 2018, p. 86)
In the relational narrative, three key relationships also formed
“turning points” in the Summits journey that were linked to the
construction of Jornet’s ecocentric identity, risk meanings, and
well-being: the death of Stéphane Brosse, team members’ shared
values, and partner Emelie Forsberg.
Key Relationship 1: Stéphane Brosse. Jornet shared the values
of environmental connection, humility, and respect for nature as
parts of his identity with mentor and expert climbing partner French
ski mountaineer, Stéphane Brosse. On June 12, 2012, during the
first ascent of Mont Blanc, Brosse died several feet away from
Jornet. Similar to what previous case-study researchers in sport
psychology have shown (e.g., Kerr, 2007; Kerr & Houge
Mackenzie, 2018), the loss of Brosse was a turning point for
Jornet in his extreme-sport participation, and his well-being was
negatively affected in his story. Drawing on discovery and rela-
tional narratives, he questioned why he was doing the project, and
the environmental connection, humility, and respect as parts of his
identity shifted, as profound loss and grief came to the forefront
with his story (Kerr, 2007) and environmental risk was disregarded.
These points were shown partly in the first film and detailed in the
final movie, A Path to Everest, as Jornet reflected on his journey
and how he initially coped with the loss:
The years that followed the accident, I really pushed my limits.
I took too many risks. It was also a time where I was drinking a
lot, in fact, I do not like alcohol. I have never done that before
but at this time, I was drinking every week. I was racing and
I was winning but inside, I was sad. It was my way to get out
of this; it was to drink after the races and when I was training,
I was putting myself in deadly situations and I was asking
myself—why did I not fall? Why did he fall? (Jornet, 2018,
26:53)
After Brosse’s death, Jornet reframed risk meanings within a
relational narrative, noting that he began taking chances to avoid
negative feelings and self-connection with the sport, punishing
himself for surviving (Kerr, 2007). This finding aligns with
previous case-study work in which researchers have shown that
the loss of key relationships through death of other athletes in

extreme-sport contexts is a salient mental health issue of which
sport psychologists, other health professionals, and other athletes
should be aware (Kerr & Houge Mackenzie, 2018). While engag-
ing in extreme sport means that athletes prepare for and accept that
risk may happen (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017; Crust et al., 2019),
Jornet’s relationship turning point with Brosse’s death further
allows us to highlight the need to provide space to let these stories
be heard by others, so that athletes’ fears and grief can be
acknowledged and care and understanding be provided to help
them work through, and cope with, these relationship turning-
point moments (Kerr, 2007). After questioning his own mortality
and struggling through guilt, Jornet eventually came to terms with
the loss, and he noted newly heightened awareness about the
meaning of risk in the Summits story. The meaning of environ-
mental connection was also revisited as a relational value in the
project for Jornet and team members. This meant that perspective
could be gained and that values could be shared with Brosse ever
present:
We’re all still reeling from the loss of Steph, but in a strange
way, it’s as if he is there urging us to go on. Completing this
climb is the best way to keep his memory alive, so we decide to
do this one for him. (Jornet, 2018, p. 38)
Key Relationship 2: Team Members. Several team members
who worked with Jornet on the Summits project were also linked
to turning-point moments and nuanced shifts in the meaning of
his ecocentric identity by drawing on a relational narrative in his
stories. As noted, Jornet chose people to work with him on the
project who shared his way of thinking concerning the Summits
goals as infused with freedom of movement, self-discovery, and
humbled respect for the mountains, which aligned with Jornet’s
ecocentric identity as encompassing these qualities (Brymer &
Gray, 2009; Brymer & Oades, 2009). As the Summits project
unfolded, relationships with team members became storied by
Jornet as turning-point moments that allowed him to heighten
environmental connection with well-being, as well as those
involved in the project, in discovery and relational narratives.
For example, in the first film, Jornet shared the Mont Blanc
journey with a teenage boy named Matteo. They trained together
often, to a point that Jornet viewed being in the mountains with
Matteo “as feeling like home” and providing shared understanding
in a relational narrative, as Matteo noted in the first film and in
the book:
Kilian has not only inspired me as a competitor, but as a
person with his simple, gentle nature. The two of us never
have to talk to know what the other is thinking; with just a
look there’s enough to know if the other is doing all right.
Being at Kilian’s side has made me evolve as an athlete, as a
climber, and, more importantly, as a person. (Jornet, 2018,
p. 201)
The finding that relationships are important aspects of
extreme-sport motivation and a potential pathway to enhancing
well-being partly aligns with work by researchers that has shown
that nature itself leads to developing social connections whereby
athletes work together toward mutual goals without having the
need to compete against one another (Houge Mackenzie & Brymer,
2018; Kerr & Houge Mackenzie, 2018). When drawing on a
relational narrative in the preceding example, social connection
was storied as being developed by Mateo and Jornet coexisting
with and for each other (Douglas & Carless, 2015) as they
summitted Mont Blanc.
CSSEP Vol. 4, No. S1, 2020
Extreme Sport, Identity, and Well-Being S1-13
Another relationship turning-point moment in a relational
narrative came when Jornet used a different story—Langtang—to
outline why he gave up his goal to summit Mount Everest. In the
second film and section of the book, the story of Langtang was
used by Jornet to chronicle a serendipitous opportunity to help
those who had lost homes in the earthquake that destroyed one of
the regions of Nepal where team member Jordi used to go
regularly:
Jordi knows a lot of people there, as he’s been in the valley 20
or so times. In fact, just two months before, he was passing
through some of the very villages where there has now been an
avalanche caused by the earthquake. Anxiety has wiped all the
expression from his face. . . . As Jordi helps us realize, the rural
Langtang Valley, full of villages that have been totally cut off
is where our help is more needed. Though I see profound
worry in Jordi’s face, I can recognize the determination in his
eyes. He’s been there a ton of times. The people there are like
his family, and he was with them not too long ago . . . singing,
dancing, and just sharing in life. (Jornet, 2018, pp. 141–142)
In this example, achieving the goal of climbing Mount Everest was
moved to the background in the Summits project, and helping the
people of Langtang was centralized in this story, further showing
the relational aspects of the Summits journey as providing alterna-
tive storylines for athletes to draw on beyond the performance
narrative (Carless & Douglas, 2013; McGannon et al., 2019). By
drawing on a relational narrative, descriptions of being immersed in
the present moment, with or for team members, rather than
accounts of performance outcomes for himself were centralized
in the Summits stories (Douglas & Carless, 2015).
Key Relationship 3: Partner Emelie Forsberg. Forming a rela-
tionship with Emelie Forsberg was another turning point linked to
Jornet’s ecocentric-identity transformation and well-being in dis-
covery and relational narratives. Forsberg is also an accomplished
world-ranked skyrunner who initially met Jornet through races and
began dating him when he was grieving Brosse’s death during the
Summits project. This relationship positively affected Jornet, since
having somebody with him to share similar values in the natural
world brought healing to his life during the grieving process. By
drawing on a relational narrative, Jornet’s accounts focused on
physical, mental, and spiritual freedoms through environmental
connection and humility in the mountains—which were aspects
of an eccentric identity (Brymer & Gray, 2009) for himself and
Forsberg.
This relationship also marked a turning point for Jornet in the
Summits journey when a narrative tension related to meanings of
risk came to the fore during the fourth movie, Everest. As their
relationship deepened, Forsberg became worried about Jornet’s
being hurt—but she also wanted to let him be free to pursue his
goals since she shared his love of nature and environmental
connection, by drawing on discovery and relational narratives in
the story. By drawing on a relational narrative, Jornet also noted
these tensions and the subtle shift in his life and well-being for the
better in the Everest story—but his accounts also drew on a new
constraint of risk related to Forsberg’s expressed concerns. Before
the ascent of Mount Everest, Jornet and Forsberg were shown in
their home in the mountains, when Forsberg admitted,
It is more important to talk about the color of the walls than
talking about Mount Everest [laughs]. I did not really start to
think about Mount Everest—I did not avoid it. It is difficult to
S1-14 McGannon, Pomerleau-Fontaine, and McMahon
picture it. I am really having a hard time picturing it and maybe
I don’t want to picture it. I do not know. (Jornet, Montaz-
Rosset, & Serra 2018, 40:21)
For Jornet, an awareness of caring for another deeply, and
being cared for by another, created a tension in a discovery
narrative, since a central plot in the narrative is that one’s life
and motivation for sport are driven by learning and openness to
new opportunities (Douglas, & Carless, 2015). Another possibility
is that the discovery of deeply caring for Forsberg opened Jornet to
further learning within a discovery narrative, also exemplifying
tensions between different stories of discovery. As a way to
reconcile these tensions, Jornet noted, “We do not talk a lot about
the risks with the people we love” (Jornet, 2018, 40:29), further
reinforcing a newly heightened—and changed—meaning of risk,
resulting in further tension concerning his connection with envi-
ronment as part of who he is (i.e., identity). The complexity of these
tensions concerning risk was further heightened in the story when
Jornet and Forsberg recounted learning about the death of another
expert mountaineer, Ueli Steck, while they were on Mount Everest
in the fourth film:
For both me and Kilian, Ueli was somebody who did impos-
sible things but was still alive and it was really hard to find out
that he had an accident. For sure, I think it made him and
everyone think; what’s worth it? How many risks should I
take? To reevaluate the risk again and again and to really be
cautious. (Jornet, Montaz-Rosset, & Serra, 2018, 54:32)
In the extreme-sport literature, the framing of “risk” meanings
in relation to participation and motivation is complex (Brymer &
Schweitzer, 2017), with some extreme-sport athletes—including
Jornet, Forsberg, and the Summits team—reflecting on their abili-
ties, knowledge, and past experience in order to decide to engage in
an ascent (Crust et al., 2019). In relativist narrative inquiry, the
meanings of risk are coconstructed, and in the case of Jornet’s
story, when drawing on discovery and relational narratives, risk
meanings may be fluid in the context of relationships/others.
Although there is minimal research exploring the impact of
extreme-sport pursuits on romantic partners, researchers exploring
other relationships in extreme-sport contexts have suggested that
relationships are important to enhance well-being and mitigation of
risk (Kerr & Houge Mackenzie, 2018). Our findings can be used to
also suggest that the role of relationships—from past training
partners who may have lost their lives, to teammates, to romantic
partners—has a complex impact on mental health and well-being
and should be explored further.
Throughout the Summits journey, as noted in the previous
theme, Jornet emphasized the personal transformation, growth, and
well-being benefits he experienced due to the people intertwined
with the project. His ecocentric identity was profoundly shifted by
his romantic relationship and deeper concerns of Forsberg, which
further showed the relational narrative being incorporated into his
identity, as he mentioned all that he had learned from others:
When I arrived to Everest, I wanted to take the northeast face
that we have tried last year. I climbed 200 m; the conditions
were not perfect. I was not satisfied. I told myself, “What am I
doing here?” I went down and told myself, “I am taking the
usual way.” Last year, I would have kept going. I would not
have seen the reality of the situation. I would have told myself,
“This is not too bad.” It has changed when I went to Cho Oyu
before I met Emily and also because of Ueli’s accident. (Jornet,
Montaz-Rosset, & Serra 2018, 55:36)
CSSEP Vol. 4, No. S1, 2020
The preceding quote also demonstrates how Jornet’s relational
identity and ways in which he approached his sport in the stories
shifted in nuanced ways from the beginning of the project to now
5 years later, as he climbed the final summit of Everest. Through his
interactions with people throughout the Summits journey, he real-
ized that the conditions were not ideal. In his accounts, Jornet had
noted that he always used a reflective and risk-aware approach, but
his reflective approach was now complexly intertwined with others
who factored into his knowledge, growth, and a transformed
identity in discovery and relational narratives. These points are
shown in the final chapter of Jornet’s book when he reflected on the
journey:
It’s been, more than anything else, a learning experience, and I
cannot thank enough all of the friends and acquaintances
who’ve been with me throughout this project. They’ve all
become mentors to me, and it’s thanks to them that I am who I
am today. (Jornet, 2018, p. 198)
Reflections
In the present study a thematic narrative analysis was conducted on
the Summits of My Life journey of a high-profile elite skyrunner
and ski mountaineer to learn more about the nuanced aspects of
extreme-sport athlete identity and well-being. By focusing on novel
data sources (e.g., documentary films, autobiographical book), self-
identity and well-being meanings were shown to be fluid within
discovery and relational narrative threads. Relevant for well-being
and mental health of extreme-sport athletes, Jornet’s athletic
“ecocentric identity” was linked to intrinsic enjoyment and new
opportunities and intertwined with a humbled respect for the
environment when constructed within a discovery narrative thread.
This finding is one that should be capitalized on in applied sport
psychology, as it adds to a small body of literature that has shown
the health and well-being benefits of extreme-sport participation
(Brymer & Schweitzer, 2013a; Willig, 2008).
Our narrative analysis further showed that Jornet’s ecocentric
identity and risk meanings shifted as a result of three key relation-
ships linked to turning points in a relational narrative, which had
implications for well-being. This novel finding allows us to
highlight the need for sport psychology practitioners to be aware
of the intertwining of athletic identity with relationships for
extreme-sport athletes in ways that may compromise, or enhance,
well-being. Extreme-sport pursuits shared with others (e.g., other
athletes, partners, family members) are advantageous for encour-
aging an ecocentric identity that moves beyond a singular identity
toward shared discovery, environmental connection, and enhanced
psychological health and well-being. Providing relational support
from practitioners, other sport participants, and romantic partners
may also allow for the narrative foreclosure of grief, fear, and/or
risk experiences to help athletes negotiate grief and risk narratives
that existentially threaten self-identity (Kerr, 2007; Kerr & Houge
Mackenzie, 2018). In addition, an awareness of risk meanings as a
relational issue that may create identity and life tensions for sport
participants and significant others, particularly romantic partners of
athletes, is also an avenue of research and practice.
Related to the “hows” concerning these points, it is useful to
reiterate that a central assumption of relativist narrative inquiry is
that self-stories are used by athletes to craft identities and that
associated actions may follow from narratively constructed identi-
ties (Carless & Douglas, 2013; McGannon & Smith, 2015; Smith &
Sparkes, 2009). In this sense, practitioners should also be aware

that although it is important to support discovery and relational
narratives as alternatives to the performance narrative, narratives
should not be imposed or forced on athletes (Douglas & Carless,
2015; Kerr & Houge Mackenzie, 2018). Changing and/or harnes-
sing stories in particular narratives—be they performance, discov-
ery, or relational—should be viewed as part of an unfolding,
therapeutic initiative (see Douglas & Carless, 2015). In this regard,
making athletes aware that alternative stories are available can open
discussions concerning performance and mental health that may
affect opportunities for actions/behaviors aligning with alternative
stories that positively affect mental health and well-being
(McGannon & McMahon, 2019; Newman et al., 2016).
As part of this process, practitioners may use public forms
of athlete stories—such as Jornet’s—as pedagogical resources
(Sparkes & Stewart, 2016) to accomplish narrative awareness and
expansion by showing sport psychology consultants, coaches, and
athletes ways to contest a performance narrative via highlighting
alternative plotlines such as discovery or relational narratives that
expand identities and meanings (Carless & Douglas, 2013). One
way to expand stories within such narratives is drawing attention to
actions/behaviors that align with alternative stories, such as having
discussions with extreme-sport athletes inclusive of multiple ways
of “playing the part of the athlete” (Douglas & Carless, 2015). By
highlighting stories such as Jornet’s in a critical manner, practitioners
can show athletes alternative paths and actions that lead to success
and well-being, opening conversations concerning risk and fear in
the context of important relationships. Athlete stories might also
come from published books (digital, audio, or print), film, television,
or digital media (e.g., websites, blogs, podcasts). To advance work in
this area, athlete stories may also come from different countries and/
or extreme-sport athletes from different cultural backgrounds, to
expand understanding and identity inclusion.
The present study’s findings align with a small body of
qualitative research in and outside sport psychology in which
researchers have shown that extreme-sport motives and experiences
are not straightforward. Our findings also challenge perspectives of
extreme-sport participation that view athletes’ motivations as a
pathological quest for risk and adrenaline, linked to narcissistic
personality traits. Our findings offer a modest starting point to
advocate for more exploration of extreme-sport stories to learn more
about the relational aspects of self-identity, risk meanings, and
connections with health, well-being, and performance. Such stories
are in abundance in personal and public forms, and studying them,
or using them as a pedagogical tools, using a novel theoretical
approach such as narrative inquiry has much to offer.
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