Many involved in sport will proudly describe the life skills and values learned while pursuing elite sporting dreams. Team work, goal setting, dedication and persistence are among the descriptors (albeit overly-simplified) of these skills. Individual stories tell us more.

Some are Hollywood-perfect examples of sporting talent thriving in the corporate world. With a bachelor of commerce/bachelor of laws degree under his belt, triple Olympian Chris Fydler now heads up a prominent technology company. Others are infamous examples of a downward spiral off the sporting rollercoaster, canoeist Nathan Baggaley serving a nine-year jail term for dealing in ecstasy.

It would be interesting to see the true average of these tales, a sneak peak into the run-of-the-mill role of elite sport in career development. Any such picture is difficult to conjure, with only the prominent athletes, for better or for worse, maintaining public profiles.

We are frequently exposed to the sportstar who uses their sporting prowess as a springboard into a media career. Footballer James Hird forms the prototype of this mould, Jason Akermanis the anti-hero. Of the Olympic genre, Giaan Rooney and Johanna Griggs are obvious shining examples. Pole-vault silver medallist Tatiana Grigorieva’s profile landed her on Dancing with the Stars and Gladiators, while footballer Ryan Fitzgerald found himself on Big Brother and now Before the Game.

Those who excelled in less prominent sports, or never quite reached the pinnacle, must traipse a different path. Their elite sporting days less often have a direct cause-effect relationship on their ultimate career.

With the 10-year anniversary of the Sydney Olympics playing out this month, I took the opportunity to take a broadbrush glance at the “where are they nows” of some of our Sydney Olympians…

Of the professional sports, many are, or were, career athletes. Mark Philipoussis, Todd Woodbridge, Mark Woodforde, Lleyton Hewitt, Pat Rafter, Alicia Molik, Jelena Dokic and Andrew Ilie are names familiar to many a couch TV sport watcher. Hewitt and Dokic continue to play, Rafter is now perhaps just as well known for his knickers as his volleys.

Of the soccer players, Mark Bresciano, Lucas Neill and Josip Skoko are among the familiar names of players forging long (and sometimes lucrative) careers on the pitch. Professional sport also beckoned for boxer Danny Green, who turned pro after competing in Sydney. Green rose to world champion in 2008 before retiring and un-retiring, which is what boxers tend to do.

For athletes excelling in less lucrative sports, being a “career athlete” has a slightly different meaning. Many continue to chase their dreams, but without the financial security of their professional counterparts. Baby of the 2000 track team, Georgie Clarke, has battled years of injury, narrowly missing this year’s Commonwealth Games team for Delhi. Tamsyn Lewis and Jana Rawlinson (nee Pittman) are still pounding the tracks, as are Craig Mottram and Nathan Deakes. Sydney Olympics beach volleyball gold medallist Natalie Cook has her eye on the London Olympics, supplementing her sporting dreams with a small business and a couple of books.

Rower Anthony Edwards still wakes with the sparrows in pursuit of London glory, as does swimmer Leisel Jones. Table tennis player Miao Miao went on to win silver at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, and represented Australia again in Athens and Beijing. Handballer Darryl McCormack too continues to play, despite Australia failing to qualify a handball team for the 2004 or 2008 Olympics.

Others have remarkably switched sports. Australia’s oh-so-close Tour de France runner-up, and World Road Cycling Champion Cadel Evans, competed in Mountain Biking in Sydney. Alexandra Croak competed in gymnastics in Sydney, before making the transition to diving and winning a silver medal at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. She went on to represent Australia again in 2008 in Beijing. Gymnast Trudy McIntosh “graduated” to Cirque du Soleil.

Others have stuck within sport, but graduated into coaching. 400m hurdler Matthew Beckenham now coaches a strong squad of Canberra based athletes, including strong 400m hurdles Commonwealth Games medal chance Lauren Boden. Rower Darren Balmforth won silver in Sydney, then guided the Australian women’s eight to bronze at the 2006 World Championships. He is now a cray fisherman in his Tassie home.

Taip Ramadani represented Australia in handball, and is now the head coach of the Australian men’s handball team, combining this role with work for the Australian Sports Commission. Phillip Dutton, gold medallist for Australia in equestrian in 2000, took up US citizenship in 2006 and represented the US at the 2008 Olympics, finishing 7th in the Three Day Eventing Team. He is now a highly regarded coach in Pennsylvania. Yvette Higgins, the scorer of the winning goal that saw our women’s water polo team snatch gold, also graduated to the coaching ranks.

Gold medal archer Simon Fairweather is now the National Head coach of archery, while Daniel Trenton, silver medallist in judo, went on to be appointed head coach of the Australian Taekwondo team for the 2008 Olympics.

Others have stayed involved in sport in other capacities. 800m runner in Sydney, Grant Cremer, is now CEO of Queensland Athletics. Steve Moneghetti has, amongst many other roles, chaired the board of the Victorian Institute of Sport and will fill the role of Chef de Mission of the Australian Team in Delhi. Swimmer Daniel Kowalski works in the Victorian Institute of Sport Career and Education unit. Claire Mitchell-Taverner, 2000 hockey gold-medallist, fills a similar role as Career Development Manager with the AFL Players’ Association.

Some have used their sporting experience in speaking or inspiration roles. Basketballer Chris Anstey has combined with softballer Natalie Titcume to run leadership and anti-bullying programs in schools. Grant Hackett and James Tomkins combine speaking and ambassadorial roles with successful corporate careers.

Finding those who have transitioned successfully into the workforce outside of sport was much more difficult. This is not to suggest that this group is not the largest, but it is the least publicly known - the nonetheless inspiring group of men and women who have seamlessly transported their sporting skills into stable careers.

Rower Bec Joyce is a senior manager with Westpac, while Brett Hayman, silver medallist coxen in the men’s rowing eight, is one of Canberra’s leading real estate agents. 10,000m runner Shaun Creighton is partner of a Canberra law firm, while fencer Evelyn Halls is a partner with law firm Freehills. Modern pentathlete Kitty Chiller moved into Project Management and rower Geoff Stewart into teaching. Rower Vicky Roberts is completing a PhD in Organisational Behaviour and Angie Lambert (nee Skirving), the youngest member of the gold medal winning hockeyroos, is a PE teacher.

The length of this list, if we delved deeper, would be fascinating. It would also help to empirically ascertain our original contention - that sporting skills are transferable to the workforce. The obvious difficulty in any study is the difficulty tracking- or defining- success outside of sport. What are the indicators- earnings? Happiness? Health? Family? Would their careers be different for better or for worse without their elite sporting journey?

Those who have struggled in their transition out of sport are also difficult to track. Without a high profile, scrutiny is absent, perhaps too assistance. So while we should be proud that the vast majority of our elite sportspeople continue to be outstanding role models outside of the sporting arena, and our high profile miscreants are the exception rather than the rule, the caveat remains that we must take care to catch those who may fall through the net.

I’ll be the first to admit that a one line resume does little to answer the important questions. Are our former athletes happy? Healthy? Has sport changed - for better or for worse - their careers, their lives or their families? There is so much we will never know about when the Olympic flame extinguishes for each athlete, but as a kid inspired by all these Olympians' feats in 2000, I can only say thank you and good luck!