The Olympics/Paralympics are arguably the biggest sporting events in the world. It is a fascinating period in which we can watch the best athletes in a wide range of sports compete for the ultimate prize, an Olympic or Paralympic medal. This event only comes around every four years, and many fans and sports fanatics alike tune in to watch this spectacle.
Just imagine being an athlete in this situation. You have trained for the previous four years for this one moment. Just picture yourself standing there ready to take on the first event of your sport. How would you feel?
There is no doubt that these athletes will be feeling the pressure. There is also no doubt that these athletes have been training the physical, technical and tactical components of their sport for this moment. One of the areas that would also have been trained for this moment is the mind. Mental preparation is needed if an athlete is going to have a chance of succeeding in this high-pressure environment.
Luckily, there are many things we can do to help us mentally prepare for this situation. We are going to explore what an Olympian and a Paralympian might do to mentally prepare for this big occasion. We must make it very clear that an individual's mental preparation is unique to them. The techniques, how they use them and what works for them are unique to them. Everyone has their challenges and unique contexts they operate which requires many evidence-based techniques to be tailored for them. Therefore, we recommend not following these mental preparations exactly as they are. If you are going to try some of the techniques out, experiment with them. See how they work for you. What works for someone else might not work for you.
Before we go into exploring what an athlete might do, we want to make clear that the examples we are using are not real. The techniques and preparation presented here are based on research and examples from real-life athletes. The point here is to provide an insight into what mental preparation for a moment like this would look like.
Anyway, let's get started.
Olympic table tennis athletes' mental preparation
Zhang Jike, one of China’s most renowned table tennis athletes and an Olympic gold medalist emphasized the importance of mental preparation, mentioning that it is important to maintain a focussed and calm mindset during matches. Just like many sports, table tennis is physically and psychologically demanding. Being able to deal with psychological demands is crucial for helping us perform effectively.
Our table tennis player would first need to develop awareness of their internal world. What thoughts and feelings arise during table tennis situations? How do they typically react and behave in these situations?
What they might do to start their mental preparation is spend a few weeks developing this awareness through the use of a thought diary. Each day they will think about several situations they have been through, and then write down the thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviours that occurred during them. This will also help to identify what psychological aspects they are struggling with. For example, they might notice how their self-talk becomes critical after making a mistake.
Once they have spent time developing their awareness and understanding their mental strengths and weaknesses, they can start to learn some techniques to help improve their weaknesses. Our table tennis player struggles with critical self-talk and feels nervous before competition. They spend some time learning the best ways to deal with these challenges and work with their support team (coaches and sport psychologist) to find the best way of implementing them into their training routine.
Here’s an example of what their mental training routine might look like leading up to the Olympics:
Complete thought diary every day
Imagery practice 3x a week for half an hour
Mindfulness of breath 5x a week for a minimum of 10 minutes each day
Implement and practice pre-performance and between set refocus routines in training and matches
Complete Effective, Ineffective, Continue and change reflection after training and matches
Practice using motivational mantras in training and competition
Our athlete integrates this into their training to ensure the key skills are practised and developed, therefore when it comes to competing they have the process solidified and autonomic. For example, when it comes to competing in their first match at the Olympics, they have the processes in place to deal with the pressure (mindfulness of breath and pre-performance routine developed) and have strategies to deal with mistakes, distractions and the unexpected (imagery, motivational mantra and between set refocus routine).
Wheelchair Basketball athletes' mental preparation
As we move on to a different sport, it is important to remember that each sport has its unique psychological demands. These demands combined with an athlete's context mean the way each athlete mentally prepares is unique to them. Despite a lot of athletes utilizing similar techniques, strategies and approaches, the way they are used and implemented will be different.
Brian Bell, a wheelchair basketball 2x gold medalist shared two things he did to stay mentally fit going to tough games and the Paralympics. He mentioned how he meditates and uses breathing exercises as well as pre-game imagery to mentally prepare for the occasion.
Our wheelchair basketballer previously competed in the Paralympics and sadly didn't perform to their usual standards. Therefore, when starting their preparation for the next Olympics, they analyzed their previous Paralympic performance. This enabled them to identify lessons and learn from that experience. They discovered that they didn’t know their teammates as well as they could have. They also struggled with their family providing feedback and asking questions during the game and also struggled with being the favourites competing. Our athlete is also struggling with the trauma developed from his life-changing injury.
Again, being able to identify the unique demands for them is crucial to ensuring they effectively mentally prepare. With those lessons identified, the athlete can then work with their team to develop a mental training routine and integrate it within their training routine.
Here is an example of the things the athlete might do to mentally prepare themselves for the next Paralympics:
Spend more time developing relationships with my teammates (being more open and honest with them)
Identity how I want my family and friends to communicate with me during the Paralympics and communicate this to them
Complete goal-setting with my coach and sport psychologist
Create, iterate and practise pre-performance and mid-performance routine
Develop respond, relax and refocus self-talk
Work with my sport psychologist each week or approach a clinical psychologist to help with the trauma
Again, this is an example of what someone might do and different strategies, interventions or approaches can be added. When supporting a Paralympian, the strategies utilized might need to be adapted depending on the athlete and the athlete needs to be involved in this to ensure it meets their individual needs. For example, if you were to use progressive-muscle relaxation exercises with a paraplegic, it would need to be adapted to suit them.
The main point is to understand the importance of mental preparation. Spending time mentally preparing enables athletes to feel confident, focused and in control, which is vital in high-pressure situations such as the Olympics and Paralympics. Building these mental foundations will help to ensure athletes arrive at the Olympics and Paralympics armed with a host of mental approaches in mind, having taken into consideration their weaknesses and fears as well as feeling confident they have mitigated or planned for them. This should help them feel confident enough to perform under pressure.
As you will have hopefully seen, the importance of mental preparation for an event as big as the Olympics and Paralympics cannot be understated. The athletes who can perform under the immense pressure that these games bring about would have prepared mentally to cope with it. What they did to prepare is unique to their context and sport, however, they would have prepared. Regardless of the level you are competing at, mental preparation is crucial. Whether you are a youth athlete with dreams of competing in the Olympics or Paralympics or a Sunday league football player, the time spent mentally preparing will be beneficial.