Athletes and Bipolar Disorder: When the Drive That Fuels Greatness Becomes Mania

Abstract illustration representing athletes with bipolar disorder and the drive that fuels greatness

From Rugby Star Angus Crichton to Olympic Champions, Bipolar Disorder Hides in Plain Sight Among Elite Athletes — and the Manic Episodes Can Be Devastating

Angus Crichton was at the peak of his career. The Sydney Roosters forward had just helped Australia win the 2022 Rugby League World Cup. But off the field, something was breaking apart. In the wake of the tournament, Crichton suffered a manic episode so severe that police tasered him and he was admitted to a psychiatric facility. He was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

“As men and as athletes we can often be too proud to seek help or look like you’re weak or struggling,” Crichton told NRL.com. “Sometimes it can be the strongest thing to accept you’re probably not where you need to be and to get the help you need.”

Crichton stepped away from professional rugby league for most of 2023 to focus on treatment. The return was slow — he started back in reserve grade — but by 2024, he had reached career-best form. In 2026, he signed with Rugby Australia to pursue his childhood dream of playing in the Rugby World Cup.

A Pattern That Keeps Repeating

Crichton’s story is not an outlier. The list of elite athletes who have disclosed bipolar disorder and depression is long and cuts across sports: swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history; boxer Frank Bruno; NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall; and golfer David Feherty, among others. What they share is not just a diagnosis but a version of the same experience — the manic energy that can feel like a superpower until it becomes a crisis.

A 2026 study published in Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health followed an Olympic athlete with bipolar disorder through 10 months of interviews leading up to the Paris 2024 Games. The researchers found that the athlete actively constructed a “de-stigmatised identity” around his condition — reframing bipolar not as a weakness but as part of what made him competitive. That reframing helped him perform, but it also carried risk: the same intensity that drives elite performance can blur into mania.

The Thin Line Between Drive and Mania

The overlap between athletic intensity and manic symptoms is well recognized. Reduced need for sleep, elevated confidence, relentless focus, and impulsive risk-taking are traits that coaches reward and clinicians flag as warning signs. During manic phases, athletes may overtrain, ignore injuries, or make reckless decisions off the field. During depressive episodes, withdrawal and suicidal ideation can follow.

The culture of toughness in professional sports makes it harder for athletes to seek help early. It requires teams, coaches, and medical staff to recognize that the same traits they celebrate may also be symptoms.

A note from Jess Hawkeye: There is something about mania that looks, from the outside, like greatness. You are fearless, tireless, electric. In sports, that gets rewarded — until the crash. Crichton getting tasered by police after a World Cup win is not a contradiction. It is what untreated mania looks like when no one around you knows what they are seeing. If you are an athlete reading this, or you love one: the drive and the disorder are not the same thing. Learn the difference before someone else has to learn it for you.

For more information, visit NAMI’s bipolar disorder resource page or the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.

Sources: NRL.com | Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health

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