This article discusses cooperation among athletes in competition. The primary level of cooperation in sport is constitutive and this creates the very possibility of competition, so that, when opponents mutually comply with the rules and ethos that constitute and sustain the contest, they are bound by `constitutive cooperation`. This primary level gives rise to two types of athletes` cooperation in competition, which can be called `coopetition` (or `co-opetition`). The first is `coopetition among teammates` and it has been described in the philosophy of sport as teamwork or, as Sandel would call it, `sentimental` cooperation. This article proposes a second type of coopetition - `coopetition among opponents` - the `instrumental cooperation` of athletes within competition itself. This analysis draws on insights from game theory and its ideas on coalitions, and focuses on rule-permitted temporary/situational cooperation between or among opponents within a race in order to secure a mutual advantage (e.g. a breakaway in road cycling), before a resumption of competition. It is most salient in parallel races, under mass-starts formats, in fast and outdoor sports. These three types of cooperation among athletes in competition are framed within Michael Sandel`s three conceptions of community, which highlight participants` relationships to each other, to their aims, and to their identity.
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