Understanding stress and coping among competitive athletes in sport.

It is commonly accepted that the competitive sports environment is characterised by situations of intense pressure presenting a potentially stressful environment (Hanton, Fletcher, & Coughlan, 2005; Rumbold, Fletcher, & Daniels, 2012). Sport performers must manage a range of pressures and psychological responses if they are to fulfil their potential. Consider the case of Rebecca Adlington; during the Beijing Olympic games (2008) she became the first British woman to win two Olympic swimming Gold’s. Four years later at the London 2012 Olympic games, Rebecca talked about the pressures of trying to emulate her 2008 success whilst competing at a home games.

‘Everything just kind of caught up with me…I would have liked the time [swim time] to have been a bit quicker. I’ve done that time all year and I don’t know what happened…The most I’ve ever competed in front of at home is 2,500. I’m not used to that crowd reaction coming out. It’s the first time I’ve stepped into that and maybe it’s a little bit overwhelming for us all…I think the pressure, the expectation and everything going into this meet has been a little bit of a battle’. (Cited in the Telegraph, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/swimming/9451060/Rebecca-Adlington-admits-pressure-and-expectation-got-to-her-in-800m-freestyle-final-at-London-2012-Olympics.html accessed 19th November 2013).

Being able to successfully help individuals fulfil their potential presents an ambitious objective for someone in any profession. In sport, as illustrated above, there may be occasions where an athletes’ mind is invaded by unpleasant thoughts and emotions that associate with perceiving competition as a huge pressure.