{"id":2695,"date":"2021-08-05T16:13:59","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T16:13:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/?p=2695"},"modified":"2021-08-05T16:14:40","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T16:14:40","slug":"resilience-the-magic-ingredient-for-olympians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/OU-Sport\/?p=2695","title":{"rendered":"Resilience: The magic ingredient for Olympians?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nichola Kentzer<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Arguably, it has been a longer, and more challenging, road to Tokyo 2020 than any other Olympic Games in recent times. So how were the athletes\u00a0and their support teams, able to pick up themselves up following the disappointment of the cancelled games last year and prepare for the rescheduled event? In this\u00a0article, Dr Nichola Kentzer considers resilience as a key factor in supporting this disrupted athletic journey.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What is resilience?<\/h2>\n

Something of a buzz word in recent years – there have been many definitions of resilience presented but in simple terms resilience is:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ability to use personal qualities to withstand pressure.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

(Fletcher & Sarkar, 2016, p. 136).<\/p>\n

When discussing resilience in the sporting context the terms \u2018stressor\u2019 \u2013 referring to the demands placed on the athletes, such as in training and competition, and \u2018adversity\u2019 referring to a personal (such as bereavement) or professional (e.g., deselection) difficulty for an athlete, are often used. The \u2018personal qualities\u2019 associated with resilience highlighted in the above definition are thought to protect an athlete from the potential negative effects of stressors\/adversities that they may face.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, when considering the question posed in the first paragraph, research tells us that some athletes can develop positively and learn from adversity experienced. For example, Fletcher and Sarkar (2012), in a study of Olympic champions, reported that most of the athletes interviewed argued that had they not experienced certain stressors, and adversities, they would not have won their gold medals.<\/p>\n

Perhaps one Olympic example that illustrates this effectively was Andy Murray\u2019s ability to take the incredible disappointment of losing the Wimbledon final in 2012 and going on, just a few weeks later, to win Olympic gold in London 2012 against the same opponent, Roger Federer.<\/p>\n

At the time, Andy reflected:<\/p>\n

“I have had a lot of tough losses in my career and this is the best way to come back from the Wimbledon final.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Andy had been able to pick himself back up, or rebound, from the disappointment of loss to cope with significant stressors during the Olympic competition and withstand the immense pressure of an Olympic final at Wimbledon in front of a home crowd.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/span><\/span><\/span>A more recent example, from Day 4 of the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games, offers an illustration of the challenges faced by athletes on their journey to the delayed event. During his preparation for the Games, Team GB swimmer Tom Dean had significant disruptions caused by two bouts of COVID-19 with 6 weeks off from training and, upon return, he had to structure his training to prevent any long-term damage to his heart and lungs. Tom was able to overcome this unprecedented situation, and significant changes to his training programme, to win Olympic Gold in the 200m swimming freestyle.<\/p>\n

But what is it about these athletes that allows them to bounce back, be resilient, and take positives from such adversity into future performances?<\/p>\n

Personal qualities that support athletes to be resilient<\/h2>\n

The research on Olympic champions by Fletcher and Sarkar (2012) identified five psychological characteristics that athletes high in resilience possessed and that were integral to the athletes withstanding pressure.\u00a0 The five characteristics were:<\/p>\n