Abstract

This research explores the socio-psychological mechanisms and identifies certain aspects of behavioral manifestations of the love of sport from an athlete’s perspective. For this study, seven autobiographies of elite athletes from both Olympic and non-Olympic sports were chosen. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. Data was coded through an interactive process to allow common themes to emerge around athletes’ love of sports. Four key themes emerged: “striving for excellence,” “multifaceted bonding,” “primacy of intrinsic rewards,” and “peremptory rectitude.” The findings demonstrate how “athlete sport love” can be a basis for an athlete’s intrinsic motivation for sport as expressed through the identified themes. The findings can assist organizations and policymakers in talent identification and development, athletes’ mental health and burnout monitoring, and sports integrity management. The findings critically reflect on earlier conceptions of sport love and extend theories of love into sports by revealing thematic concentrations on certain behavioral aspects unique to sports.