Søskenpar i toppidretten : Er det prestasjonsfremmende å være søskenpar på elitenivå i skiskyting?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to acquire more knowledge of whether the sibling relationship can increase the chances of success in elite sport. The sample consists of two pairs of siblings where all four are former elite athletes in Biathlon and has achieved international titles at senior level. All four has been part of the national elite team of Norwegian Biathlon Association for several years. The collection of information done using qualitative research, and the interviews has taken part individually using an in-depth, semi-structured approach. Data from the interviews where analysed trough a phenomenological approach. Structured data was divided into a basic model consisting of three main categories: "Sibling relationship", "family structure" and "motivation". The qualitative data were analysed both inductively and deductively and two different models where developed, one for each pair of siblings. For the brother-sister pair; "Role model", "competitor", "acceptance and understanding" and "legitimized approach". For the sister-sister pair the model was; "Role model", "friend/supporter", "acceptance and understanding" and "legitimized approach". The results showed several similarities for both pair of siblings, the similarity in age among the siblings, and the oldest sibling described as important for introducing the youngest sibling to Biathlon and even a role model for the youngest early in the career. For both pairs of siblings, support from the parents recognized as a contribution to participation in sport. One difference is that the sister couple describe the importance of the other sibling as powerful for performance development, and both sisters take advantage of having a sister to work out and to measure against. The brother-sister siblings describes each other as less supporting, more like a competitor. There is little empirical research done in the past on performance development in siblings. This study should be an early work in a field with little empirical data. Keywords: Sibling, Biathlon, elite sport, performance-enhancing, qualitative research