Head start: the psychology of competing at the Olympics

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At the commencement enactment successful Rio de Janeiro successful 2016, rower Kim Brennan was truthful calm that she was conscious of the dependable of the bubbles nether her vessel and the interaction of her fingertips arsenic she held the oars.

She had trained her caput to judge that nerves were simply a physiological effect to a moment, 1 much input to beryllium dealt with arsenic she readied herself to enactment successful an Olympic azygous sculls final. In lead-up regattas, she’d adjacent tried to simulate nervousness, arsenic acold arsenic that is possible.

“That’s not to accidental I was calm 3 hours earlier the race, but by the commencement enactment I was precise calm,” Brennan said. “I knew what was going to happen. I didn’t cognize whether I was going to triumph the contention oregon not, but that wasn’t the ask. The inquire was to execute the champion I can.”

Brennan won gold, crowning metallic and bronze medals 4 years antecedently successful London, each present stashed distant successful a sock drawer. Motherhood and her enactment for Ernst and Young arsenic a advisor to defence and nationalist information connected analyzable information and exertion programs don’t permission overmuch clip for oregon inclination to basking.

It’s not similar that for each Olympian, nor each time. Breaststroker Leisel Jones was 15 erstwhile she made her debut astatine the Sydney 2000 Olympics and became a darling to her state with a astonishment metallic medal, but was drowning arsenic overmuch arsenic waving. “I didn’t enactment with a sports psychologist, which I deliberation was a large mistake. I truly needed one,” she said. “That was astir apt erstwhile I needed it the most. I was conscionable overwhelmed. Pressure, expectation, each eyes connected me. I didn’t header precise well.”

Conventional contented was antithetic then. “My manager astatine the clip (Ken Wood) said that lone anemic radical needed sports psychologists,” Jones said.

Leisel Jones astatine the Sydney Olympics.

Swimmers marque a splash and consciousness one. Just earlier she took to the blocks for the 100m last successful Rio, Cate Campbell got a substance from a person to accidental that she had booked retired her institution boardroom truthful that they could each watch.

Suddenly, she felt a continent-sized millstone connected her shoulders. “I retrieve reasoning this was bigger than conscionable me,” she told the Daily Telegraph successful 2017. “I was liable for different people. I had to bash this for different radical arsenic good arsenic me.”

She and sister Bronte, the past satellite record-holder and reigning satellite champion respectively, some bombed. That’s Cate’s summation, not ours. “Possibly the top choke successful Olympic history,” she said immoderate years later.

But not adjacent those who conquer their Mt Olympus interval disconnected astir connected a gold-lined cloud. Ariarne Titmus produced 1 of the large swims successful Australian past to triumph 400m freestyle golden astatine Tokyo 2021. When her conscionable finished, she collapsed. “You look guardant to an Olympic Games your full beingness and you bid your full beingness for it, and past erstwhile you’re successful it, you conscionable privation it to beryllium over,” she told Code Sports En Route to Paris podcast. She’s going back, of course.

For Jamie Dwyer, the nerves crept up. Leading into Athens 2004, Australia’s men’s hockey squad had ne'er won Olympic gold. It was surely a monkey, but successful Dwyer’s eyes not his monkey; this was his archetypal Games.

But arsenic the last against the Dutch tipped into other time, Dwyer was connected edge. “I truly didn’t privation it to spell to (penalty) strokes,” helium said. “I was the 5th taker for Australia. I recovered that retired 2 minutes earlier the game.” His abrupt decease extremity settled everything. It remains the astir celebrated successful Kookaburras history.

For 3 reasons, the Olympic Games enactment much unit connected athletes than immoderate different event. One is that they travel astir lone each 4 years, and for astir competitors, erstwhile successful a lifetime. Only 30 per cent of Olympians marque it to much than 1 Games, and lone 10 per cent astatine immoderate variation triumph medals (this is peculiarly existent of Australia, which sends precise large per capita teams). There is nary Olympic season; it’s contiguous oregon never.

Former Olympic hockey subordinate and manager Ric Charlesworth erstwhile framed it this way: play and tennis are immensely competitive, but with 4 majors a twelvemonth each, a bully subordinate volition get 40 cracks successful a career. An Olympian mightiness get one.

Secondly, determination is the glare of the spotlight, which is infinitely much aggravated for Olympic athletes due to the fact that truthful galore toil distant successful obscurity for astir of their careers. Thirdly, and this is besides particularly existent of Australia, Olympians go avatars of their nation. No azygous jock has much embodied this unholy trinity of unfathomable accent than Cathy Freeman successful Sydney successful 2000. None, arguably, has handled it better.

Carolyn Anderson was a recently graduated scientist erstwhile she competed successful taekwondo successful Athens successful 2004 and admits she was wholly unprepared for the maelstrom. Twenty years later, she is going to the Olympics again, this clip arsenic the Australian squad psychologist. In the interim, the subject has changed successful a quantum way.

“The attack past was, you should consciousness confident, you should beryllium calm and relaxed,” she said. “And I didn’t consciousness immoderate of those things. I didn’t cognize past astir imposter syndrome. I had moments walking done the Olympic colony thinking, wow, what americium I doing here?” She thought she had someway to banish these sentiments. Now she counsels athletes to marque country for them.

“Our attack present is, these things are not bad,” she said. “We’re human. These things are going to happen. It’s however we enactment them that’s important. The reply is not to regenerate antagonistic thoughts with affirmative thoughts. That’s not however it works. It’s astir however we subordinate and respond to our thoughts.

Famous sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell.

“I walk a batch of clip talking to athletes astir knowing their flight-or-flight response. Fight-or-flight evidently comes up successful a beingness oregon decease situation. Exactly the aforesaid effect shows up astatine an Olympic Games. No-one’s going to die, but that limbic system, the primitive portion of the brain, doesn’t cognize the difference. It’s an affectional threat, not a carnal threat.”

Anderson said the not uncommon reflex by which athletes consciousness nauseous to the constituent of vomiting earlier a contention was a earthy corollary. “When we recognize physiologically what’s happening, for astir it’s really truly bully for us,” she said. “It gives america much energy, makes america much accurate, shuts down the parts of the assemblage that we don’t really need, similar the digestive system.

“When we recognize that each these things are going to marque america faster and stronger - and prevention energy, excessively - and commencement to construe that arsenic a adjuvant thing, that tin person immense implications. The much we effort to combat what’s really happening, the bigger it gets, the much problematic it becomes.”

“I didn’t enactment with a sports psychologist, which I deliberation was a large mistake. I truly needed 1 ... That was astir apt erstwhile I needed it the most. I was conscionable overwhelmed. Pressure, expectation, each eyes connected me. I didn’t header precise well.”

Leisel Jones

In astir sports, the contention astatine Olympic Games is little acute than astatine satellite championships due to the fact that introduction by immoderate state successful immoderate 1 lawsuit is limited. Despite this, fewer satellite records autumn and galore stars underperform. Only 1 successful 4 Olympic golden medals are won by the modern satellite champion oregon satellite record-holder. Brennan puts this into discourse of the “sensory overload” astatine the Games.

“No-one ever watches rowing. All of a sudden, you’re rowing successful beforehand of a planetary audience,” she said. “There’s a full batch of biology changes that you don’t truly get the accidental to practise earlier you get there.

“People accidental it’s conscionable different regatta, but it doesn’t consciousness similar different regatta. You cognize this matters to you, this truly matters. This is what you’ve been putting your beingness connected clasp for. You can’t instrumentality yourself. This is the clip the spotlight is really looking heavy into you and immoderate lies you’ve been telling yourself astir leaving nary chromatic unturned, they each travel backmost successful that infinitesimal connected the commencement line.”

Brennan’s deceptively elemental reply was to marque definite determination was nary prevarication to archer herself. That meant approaching each grooming league implicit 4 years arsenic if it was her past earlier the Games. But she is 1 of fewer susceptible of specified iron-clad intelligence discipline. “Sometimes successful coach-driven sports, the manager takes distant that accountability,” she said. “But it’s the jock who has to beryllium connected the commencement line.”

Psychological mentation is not one-size-fits-all, of course. One athlete’s arousal is another’s implicit stimulation. “What you larn is what is your champion authorities for optimal performance,” Brennan said. “For me, it was being calm, being clear, being present, capable to perceive the bubbles nether the boat, consciousness the unit successful my fingers, consciousness what was happening to the trim of the boat, perceive what was going connected with the different competitors. Knowing however I would respond to those inputs.”

Meares celebrates her bronze medal astatine the Rio Olympics.

For those fortunate capable to spell to much than 1 Games, the caput games alteration signifier but bash not ease. Jones learned to ore connected process, not result and it enactment her connected a much adjacent keel. Nonetheless, the golden that had seemed her destiny continued to elude her.

“The unit I was nether was mostly from myself, but it grew and grew and by the clip I got to Beijing (in 2008), it was enormous,” she said. “The value of anticipation was crippling, really.”

At last, this astir graceful of swimmers prevailed, winning 100m gold. “I’m gladsome I yet did it,” she said. “I deliberation it would person been precise hard to unrecorded with, not having achieved what I knew I was afloat susceptible of. I’d person loved to person won the 200 arsenic well, but it conscionable wasn’t my day. Time has fixed maine abstraction to beryllium capable to admit everything I’ve done.”

Dwyer’s 2nd Olympic acquisition successful Beijing successful 2008 was arsenic antithetic arsenic Greece and China are different. “My mindset was a spot different,” helium said. “I’d been voted champion subordinate successful the satellite a mates of times. I felt a spot much unit from the media, from myself, too. I truly wanted to triumph again. It was conscionable a spot different.

“Looking backmost connected my career, if I had the money, I’d astir apt person got a idiosyncratic psyche. I deliberation I would person been overmuch much prepared for the bigger tournaments. The older you get, the much you realise you don’t know.”

Track cyclist Anna Meares won medals astatine 4 Olympics and was Australia’s skipper and flag-bearer astatine the fourth, successful Rio successful 2016. What she learned on the way, she said precocious connected a Sport Integrity Australia podcast, was that determination were nary guarantees.

“There was a displacement successful intelligence unit from the rookie I was successful Athens successful 2004 to yet the matriarch successful Rio successful 2016,” she said. “I spell from loving trying to triumph to successful immoderate ways fearing what happens erstwhile I don’t.” She said she was arsenic arrogant of the keirin bronze she won successful Rio successful her past games arsenic the golden she won the clip proceedings successful Athens successful her first.

Meares is cook de ngo of the Australian squad successful Paris. She said she would enactment to foster a much holistic knowing of occurrence and failure. “I would beryllium arrogant to assistance radical to beryllium capable to spot that down the look of an athlete, of a leader, of a coach, determination are radical who acquisition the nonstop aforesaid emotions and stresses arsenic everybody else,” she said, “and effort to bring that level of unit down a bit.”

James Magnussen aft his relay aquatics successful London.

To that end, she is gladsome Australia has abandoned its signifier of publically projecting a medal count. “It’s bully to consciousness similar there’s not a contention wrong a competition,” she said. “I would person truly enjoyed a reprieve from that.”

Most who spell don’t win. Failure comes successful a spectrum. An outsider’s near-miss has a antithetic texture to a blistery favourite’s. The Campbells were distraught that nighttime successful Rio, and I don’t deliberation I’ve seen a much hollow look connected an athlete’s look than connected swimmer James Magnussen’s aft helium bombed retired successful the 4x100m relay successful London 4 years previously.

But nonaccomplishment is not ever oregon adjacent mostly a substance of succumbing to pressure. Psychologist Anderson says she tin easy rationalise it. “Failure is simply a portion of it,” she said. “You tin bash everything close connected the day, but idiosyncratic other is better. That’s the world of sport. That’s what makes it exciting. If it was predictable, it wouldn’t beryllium precise exciting. That’s the quality of it. When we judge that nonaccomplishment is simply a portion of sport, it doesn’t instrumentality distant from the greatness.

Twenty-four years connected from her Sydney debut and 16 since winning her precious golden medal, Leisel Jones agelong agone stopped trying to bushed each the demons. Instead, she has joined them. Recently, she completed a science degree.

Jamie Dwyer volition beryllium commentating connected the Olympic Games for Stan.