Keeping in mind the constructed, partial and shifting nature of identity, this study explores the role of sport in shaping the personal development and capacities for social investment among 17 Botswana Olympic athletes. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was employed to generate the data analysed in this study. Written and oral narratives were collected through a self-administered open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Long-term sport participation appears to symbolize reformation power for the respondents in this study, providing them with structures for self-realization and requiring them to construct, alter or acquire certain values; and to engage in self-conscious evaluations and interpretations of what it means to be a social being. The situated and gendered stories constructed by the participants in this study exemplify the significance of social contexts for understanding the interface between sport values, sportsperson identity development and social investment.
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