At the Olympics, everything is a performance issue

Abstract

For the great majority of sports, the performance of an athlete at the Olympic Games is considered an ultimate moment of the athletic career. Making the team or winning an Olympic medal can change an athlete's entire future. At the Olympic Games, everything is a performance issue. The pressure and reality of the outcome also changes the work of the sport psychologist. This article describes the types of issues that arise at the games and how the sport psychologist can handle them. The issues faced by the United States athletes include clinical issues, adjustment to external factors, interpersonal conflicts, distraction at the Games, and performance pressure. These issues emphasize the important role of the sport psychologist as a key resource to make an impact on performance. The article then describes the challenges and services of the Sport Psychology Department of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). Multiple‐sport programs and products were written and produced in order to deliver mental training manuals and educate players across sports. Individual Team Service Programs were designed to be in place in the years before the Olympic Games. The article concludes that the sport psychologist must be ready for everything, and success is helping athletes and coaches prevent the problems from becoming critical. After the games, the effectiveness of the services has been consistently rated by athletes and coaches as having a major positive impact on individual and team performances at the Games