PLAYING TO DIFFERENT STRENGTHS

Why more athletes are opening up about their neurodiversity - and how it shapes the way they train and compete

- ROBO KEMP

For years, ADHD was framed as a flaw - distraction, impulsivity, inconsistency. In high-pressure careers and elite sport, those traits were often misunderstood, masked or medicated away without deeper reflection. But a more nuanced conversation is emerging. Coaches, athletes and clinicians are beginning to recognise that ADHD isn't simply a deficit of attention. It's a different attentional style - one that can create both volatility and brilliance.

In recent years the likes of Adam Peaty and Lewis Hamilton have spoken openly about living with ADHD, while competitors such as Sam Holness - the first openly autistic athlete to race the Ironman World Championship - and Paralympic champion Jordan Catchpole highlight the growing visibility of neurodivergent athletes in elite sport.

Performance coach Sam Neame sees that duality daily. He works with Olympians, senior executives and elite professionals who need to deliver repeatedly under pressure. Many, formally diagnosed or not, display strong ADHD traits: restless energy, high drive, rapid idea generation and the capacity for intense hyperfocus - alongside periods of overwhelm, sleep disruption and mental noise.

“I've always had huge energy,” Neame says. “From a young age I was like a Duracell battery. The only thing that ever truly regulated me was sport.” As a teenager, training in a garage gym gave him structure. Later, competing in tennis reinforced that sense of rhythm and control. But when he transitioned into finance, the movement disappeared. Artificial light replaced daylight. Deadlines replaced physical exertion.

“I became a shell of myself - pale, flat, struggling for clarity. I'd step onto the balcony just to get natural light and some relief.” An ADHD diagnosis didn't change who he was, but it explained the pattern. “Movement is my medication,” he says. “A run can solve a thousand problems. Clarity returns. Emotions organise.”