Sports Psychology

As an athlete, once you arrive in the Olympic Village the buzz and excitement of the Games hits you and it can make people do funny things. Some get motivated and start to train harder. Some worry more about their own performances compared with others’. Some wonder whether their final preparation plans are any good.

The Olympics isn’t a normal event, so it can’t be treated as such, but the simple things that an athlete has found helps them to perform well still must be done.

In the taper to an event, you can’t go wrong in terms of physical training by reducing the volume of training and maintaining the intensity.

Mental training should also ‘taper’ in the lead up to a big event. I reckon athletes should add a few more imagery sessions, have some serious relaxation time and above all have some fun time too. Think simple thoughts, keep learning, go with what you know and remember that you’re not asking yourself to do anything you can’t do.

Typical of the lead up to an Olympics is a bundle of stories in the media about stuff that I think is just there to fill quotas. For instance, last night a website reported that the Australian Sailing Team may not race in the Games. Absurd, of course.

There’s an old tropical storm (ex-Typhoon Fung Wong) nearby and the wind will probably be a little stronger for a day or two, but it won’t interfere with any racing.

The media needs these stories right now – they’re fully geared up with staff and equipment in the main Olympic cities of Beijing, Qingdao (Sailing) and Hong Kong (Equestrian) but have no Olympic events to report on. That’s their problem!

Here in the Village, it’s easy to get caught up in the mass of Olympic stories and it can feel like a swirl of information coming from all areas. And, of course, that can get distracting. That’s not so good, especially at a time when athletes have more time on their hands as their training starts to taper and wind down in volume.

I think the solution for the athlete in competition is to get a small dose each day of Olympic news, then largely switch off all that stuff and go about the normal training and preparations. To fill in the extra spare time, some good diversions are needed – movies, tv, games, internet chat, etc. A bit of fun each day will also do wonders for mental preparation.