ACSM Olympic Games Expert Commentary

Ready, set, go! Getting primed for prime time

After Michael Phelps tied Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals in one Olympics, Phelps stated that his hard work, imagination, confidence, and coach, in addition to his competitors' comments, get him fired up to compete.

Observers of the Olympics are often amazed at how some athletes are able to handle the pressures of their sport while performing on a world stage. Successful athletes, such as Michael Phelps, often have an uncanny ability to manage their thoughts and emotions, even when all eyes are upon them. This ability to be focused and in control of their emotions under pressure is a result of the many training hours and competitive experiences they have endured.

Training involves learning, not only the physical and technical skills of their sport, but also the mental skills and strategies associated with their sport. The mental skills that are frequently associated with success are resiliency, motivation, arousal and emotional management, confidence, and attentional focus control. Coaches of successful athletes often incorporate mental training into daily practices. Through mental training, athletes often identify their present needs, beliefs, worries, behaviors, and emotional responses to their performances. They also learn to examine the consequences of certain feelings and thoughts and learn how to generate alternative causal explanation to negative events.

Mental skills such as positive self-talk and positive imagery can help them challenge and modify their negative responses to poor performances. Practice and rehearsal of these mental skills serve to make thought processing more efficient and emotionally beneficial. Regular use of these skills can help develop mental toughness or calmness under pressure, which will greatly improve the odds that they will be successful in the future.

Scott B. Martin, Ph.D., ACSM Member

Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation

University of North Texas, Denton

More from ACSM's Staff Roving Reporter...

Sold Out...But Plenty of Empty Seats

So far, we've been to three of our four events. We saw men's gymnastics (including Team USA), women's gymnastics (France, Brazil and some mixed groups), and two men's basketball games (Iran/Russia and Germany/Angola). It's my understanding that everything is sold out; however, there have been plenty of seats where we've been. It's kind of sad that there are so many people who want tickets and so many empty seats, but no way to get them. I'm sure a fair number of them are reserved for athletes, sponsors, media, family, etc. – but there are still plenty more. I wasn't sure what to expect as far as ticket scalpers. I've seen a few folks with signs that say "I need tickets," usually in multiple languages, but none with signs to sell tickets. There were a couple of people on our Great Wall tour the other day who came here with no tickets, expecting they would be available. We are definitely glad we planned ahead and got ours!

We've got spirit, yes we do...

One of my favorite parts about being at the Olympics was seeing people get excited and cheer for their country. The Brazilians seemed to be especially good at this. One of the beach volleyball matches we saw was Brazil against Georgia. The Brazilian men's team won the gold at the last Olympics, and this was Georgia's first time at the Olympics for beach volleyball. The Brazilian fans were loud and crazy - and having a great time. But there were plenty of people cheering for the underdogs, too. Though Georgia was playing a tough team, they held their own. I think everyone NOT from Brazil was cheering for Georgia. The same principle rang true at the basketball games we saw. Though Russia and Germany were no match for Iran and Angola, respectively, all the teams seemed to have plenty of fans and people to cheer for them. I guess that's part of the Olympic spirit.

Stephanie Garwood
ACSM Staff