French Athletes Research Articles

Analisis Framing Kontroversi Pada Olimpiade Paris 2024 di CNN Indonesia dan Republika

The 2024 Paris Olympics has had controversies such as a boxer suspected of being transgender taking part in the Olympics and rules prohibiting the use of the hijab for French athletes. The aim of this research is to analyze the framing of controversy at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the online media CNN Indonesia and Republika. This research uses a qualitative analysis method with Robert N Entman's framing analysis which consists of problem definition, source of the problem, moral decisions taken, and problem resolution. This research uses articles released from 18 July to 1 August 2024 on CNN Indonesia and Republika. The results of this research explain that the difference between CNN Indonesia and Republika is that CNN Indonesia tends to be neutral and provides justification for decisions taken by related parties. Meanwhile, Republika emphasized criticism and highlighted aspects of discrimination in these two issues. The difference in reporting on the controversial issue of female boxers is that CNN Indonesia is more inclined to support these athletes and the role of athletes by emphasizing personal rights that free athletes to take part in any competition, whereas in Republika they are more likely to discuss criticizing policies taken by certain authorities. On the issue of banning the use of the hijab by French Muslim female athletes, CNN Indonesia emphasized the word proselytism which France wanted to prevent and explained that the rule forbidding the use of the hijab only applies to France, while Republika explained that this rule exists because of Islamophobia and racism, thus demanding that the IOC this rule can be omitted.

An examination of relationships between transdiagnostic psychological processes and mental health disorders in athletes

IntroductionThe aims of this study were (a) to identify links between transdiagnostic psychological processes and mental health disorder (MHD) symptoms, and (b) to examine differences in MHD and transdiagnostic psychological processes as a function of demographic variables, including, gender, status as an athlete (elite vs. non-elite), number of training sessions per week, previous severe injuries, and use of medical care following severe injuries. MethodsA total of 159 competitive athletes aged between 18 and 40 years old (44 % female; mean age = 24.20 ± 4.88 years) participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire along with validated questionnaires evaluating MHD symptoms and transdiagnostic processes including: motivation to practice sport, emotional competencies, self-efficacy, repetitive negative thinking, meta-cognitive beliefs, and impulsive and perfectionist behaviors. ResultsMHD symptoms were positively correlated with controlled forms of motivation, repetitive negative thinking, meta-cognitive beliefs, and impulsive and perfectionistic behaviors; and negatively correlated with emotional competencies and self-efficacy. Gender differences showed that women were more likely to experience MHD, higher levels of repetitive negative thinking, meta-cognitive beliefs, and lower levels of emotional competencies and self-efficacy than men. Finally, elite athletes showed higher personal standards than their non-elite counterparts and those training more than four times per week showed significantly higher perfectionistic behaviors. DiscussionThese results are in line with previous findings in clinical psychology and shed light on the role of transdiagnostic processes and the risk of MHD in a sample of French athletes. Further research on the identification of key risk factors for MHD in competitive athletes is needed.

Athletes who have already experienced an injury are more prone to adhere to an injury risk reduction approach than those who do not: an online survey of 7870 French athletics (track and field) athletes

ObjectiveTo compare the perception towards injury risk reduction approach between athletes who have already experienced an injury and those who have not.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study using a one-time online...

A Mutual Dependency: Postcolonial Relations between the French Athletics Federation and French-Speaking African Athletics Federations (1956–1969)

While scholars of postcolonial Franco-African relations in the field of sport regularly examine football, they have paid little attention to athletics (track and field). Yet French athletics remains closely linked to the African countries that emerged from France’s former colonies, offering financial, material and human resources to develop the sport. This connection has led some of the best African athletes to represent French clubs or even to opt for French nationality. A variety of postcolonial processes were at work in the relationship between the French Athletics Federation (FFA) and the athletics federations of French-speaking African countries that emerged after independence. The time period studied begins when the North African states under French domination gained independence in 1956 and ends in 1969, before these relations were redefined around Francophonie (the community of countries that use the French language) and took on new forms. The corpus studied included specialist press archives and reports from French and international athletics federations. The results distinguish two periods since 1956. The first reveals a loose relationship of mutual dependence: the FFA needed colonial athletes following independence, and the new African federations needed the FFA in order to develop. In the second period, from 1963 onwards, this mutual dependence became institutionalized by a more official cooperation policy supported by the French government, in which the organizations involved each had an interest. This relationship would characterize relations between the FFA and the athletics federations of French-speaking African countries in the postcolonial period.

“Joseph Maigrot (1900-1983): a track and field coach who pioneered a French style of coaching”

ABSTRACT This paper concerns the study of an eminent figure – Joseph Maigrot (1900–1983) – whose personality had a lasting impact on the development of athletics in France, influencing even the way coaching was conceived. After a fruitful experience in gymnastics and sports, Maigrot helped to build up and manage a team of track and field coaches at the National Sport Institute in Paris during the 1940s to 1960s, and in the French Athletics Federation In the framework of this study, we see how his personality, his personal and professional career, may have influenced his style, methods and the knowledges mobilised in the federal field. Maigrot is indeed responsible for the choice of technical processes of foreign origin and for the eclectic training methods – tinged with realism, pragmatism, humanism and empiricism.

O.4.5-6 Psychosocial approach of dysfunctional eating attitude and behaviors in endurance sport: comparison of competitive and practice periods

Abstract Purpose Most of the determinants of the dysfunctional eating attitude and behaviors (DEAB) mentioned so far have been reported in aesthetic sports or weight categories and may therefore not be representative of all endurance athletes. Moreover, to our knowledge, very few studies have focused on the evolutionary nature of these variables during a sports season. The objective of this research was to identify the triggers of the implementation of inappropriate behaviors for the health and performance of endurance athletes. Methods The sample consisted of 14 French female athletes aged 18 or over who practiced an endurance sport more than 12 hours a week for more than 5 years. All athletes were at the national or international level. For one year, participants answered online questionnaires through an Athlete Management System. They were followed daily on the sports period, weekly on self-regulation of eating attitude in sport, and self-perceptions and quarterly on psychosocial parameters related to DEAB. Results The ANOVA performed showed that anxiety levels were higher and resilience levels lower in athletes with DEAB compared to other athletes, and anxiety levels tended to increase during competitive periods only in athletes with DEAB. On the other hand, the level of resilience of athletes does not vary significantly depending on the period of competition or training. The analyses performed revealed also indicate dietary regulation behaviors and a higher level of internalization of slimming standards when athletes were in competition compared to training phases. Conclusions Although DEAB are an increasing concern in the sport context, the specificity of DEAB in athletes can represent a challenge for stakeholders. It seems necessary that stakeholders from all fields to have a precise knowledge of the personal characteristics related to sports practice that could favor the DEAB development, to be able to carry out an appropriate evaluation allowing subsequently to propose avenues of intervention adapted to the realities of them. Support/Funding Source This research project was supported by the French athletics federation and financially supported by “Sport pour elles, FDJ”.

Using a socioecological approach to explore healthy lifestyle in elite sport: a qualitative study of French athletes’, coaches’, and managers’ perspectives

ABSTRACT Elite athletes are continually subjected to a range of constraints specific to high performance, and these can have a negative impact on their health. Although many studies have explored the individual factors related to risky behaviours and disorders in elite sport contexts, few have focused on health promotion. Consequently, the interpersonal, institutional, and policy factors of the health-related behaviours of elite athletes are still poorly explored. Based on the socioecological model, this study aimed to identify the factors involved in the health-related lifestyle of elite athletes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 45 participants: athletes (N = 32), their coaches (N = 6) and the managers of elite sport centres (N = 7). Both deductive and inductive thematic analyses were performed. Our results highlight the views of the actors. Regarding intrapersonal factors, resilience qualities and health literacy appeared as key factors in influencing the health-related lifestyle of elite athletes. At the interpersonal level, parents and coaches emerged as the main sources of educational support. Regarding institutional factors, the health policies of the elite sport centres were key factors in supporting the athletes’ healthy lifestyle. These results encourage the development of health promotion programs at different levels of intervention.

Adaptation and validation of the muscle dysmorphic disorder inventory in a population of French athletes (MDDI-Fr)

IntroductionMuscle dysmorphia, a theme mainly investigated by Anglo-Saxon research, is a specific body dysmorphic disorder that characterizes individuals who think they are insufficiently muscular and lean. Understudied in francophone countries, tools translated and validated in French to measure the symptomatology of muscle dysmorphia remain rare. ObjectivesThe aim of this study was the translation into French and the psychometric validation of a tool evaluating muscle dysmorphia, the Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder Inventory (MDDI-Fr), through 13 items divided into three dimensions: the “Drive For Size” (DFS), the “Appearance Intolerance” (AI) and the “Functional Impairment” (FI). MethodologyA first translation step was conducted, followed by two cross-sectional studies conducted in France. In both of the latter studies, a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder Inventory – French version (MDDI-Fr) were administered. The first study included 342 university students (Mage=20.9; SDage=2.9), and 1822 athletes for the second study (Mage=23.9; SDage=5.9). Validation was performed using internal consistency measures and confirmatory factor analysis. ResultsThe correlation matrices showed good significant results between items and dimensions. The three dimensions appeared distinct from each other with significant intra-dimension correlations. The internal consistency of the tool and its three dimensions show valid Cronbach's alphas (study 1: DFS=0.79, AI=0.74, FI=0.75, MDDI=0.74; study 2: DFS=0.72, AI=0.75, FI=0.83, MDDI=0.75). In addition, the tri-factor analysis shows significant and promising scores for the tool in three dimensions and 13 items for study 1 (χ2/df=4.67, CFI=0.85, TLI=0.83, RMSEA=0.10, SRMR=0.00), as for study 2 (χ2/df=16.08, CFI=0.87, TLI=0.84, RMSEA=0.09, SRMR=.06). Gender analyses were conducted on study 2, which showed that the DFS subscale (items 1, 4, 5) and the AI subscale (items 6 and 9) presented the greatest differences in factor loadings between genders. ConclusionThe translation, as well as the validation of the MDDI-Fr structured with 13 items and three dimensions, showed significantly satisfying results for its adaptation in French in a population of French men and women practicing weight training. However, the “Appearance Intolerance” dimension shows moderate links with the global tool, which should be investigated in future studies. Although the psychometric properties of the MDDI-Fr are promising, additional research is needed to gain a better understanding of gender differences in the results, especially for the DFS dimension.

The mediating roles of pre-competitive coping and affective states in the relationships between coach-athlete relationship, satisfaction and attainment of achievement goals

ABSTRACT The study is aimed to explore the relationship between coach-athlete relationship, precompetitive coping and affective states, satisfaction and attainment of achievement goals. A sample of 567 French athletes (Mage = 22.10; SD = 5.66; 377 men and 190 women) involved in 75 training groups participated in the study and completed a series of self-report measures in a temporal design with three measure points. Results of multilevel analyses revealed that the coach-athlete dyad (level 2; between-person level of analysis or training groups) and task-oriented coping (level 1; within person level of analysis or individuals) significantly predicted goal attainment (level 1). Moreover, the results of the Sobel test revealed that task-oriented coping (level 1) marginally mediated the relationship between coach-athlete dyad (level 2) and sport satisfaction (level 1). Besides, the coach-athlete dyad (level 1) and Intensity of positive affect (PA) mediated the relationship between coach-athlete dyad and goal attainment. Finally, the coach-athlete dyad (level 1) and Intensity of PA mediated the relationship between coach-athlete dyad and satisfaction (level 1). In conclusion, the display of Coach-Athlete relationship strategies may enhance higher levels of precompetitive task-oriented coping, intensity of PA, goal attainment and satisfaction. Subsequently, coaches and practitioners should focus their training on enhancing coach-athlete relationship as a crucial part of training in order to perform in competitions.

Relative age effects in track-and-field: Identification and performance rebalancing.

Introduction: Relative Age Effect (RAE) consists of a biased distribution of the dates of birth in a same-age group. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate Relative Age Effect among French athletes in different track-and-field events, and propose a corrective adjustment method to highlight the true potential of an athlete with respect to his/her relative age. Methods: 358,610 performances from 2009 to 2019 of female and male athletes between 12 and 21years old were collected. Relative age distributions of performances were analyzed by level of competitiveness ("All," "Top50%," "Top10%" where "all" represents all athletes, top50% and top10% represent the best 50% and 10% of athletes per age category respectively) and age category, with chi-square and odd-ratio statistics. A linear relationship between distribution of performances and age leads to a calibration coefficient allowing to rebalance the performance by considering the effect of Relative Age Effect. Validation is obtained by Wilcoxon statistical test on actual athlete data. Results: Relative Age Effect is present in all types of events. It is larger when the level of competitiveness increases. In male 100m sprint, 1year difference between two athletes birth date represents an average gain of 931.01ms (6.5%) in the U13 (Under 13years old) and 229.65ms (1.9%) in the U17 (Under 17years old) categories. Our validated rebalancing methods allows to compensate for the biases induced by the relative age effect. By comparing the rebalanced performance and the realised performance of each athlete, we cannot say that they are significantly different. On average, there is no significant difference between these two performances. Conclusion: This study showed that there is a relative age effect among young French athletes, with an even greater effect as the level of competition increases. Thanks to the rebalancing method that has been validated, performances can now be better appreciated according to category and event.

An extended validation of the Communal Coping Strategies Inventory for Competitive Team Sports: A multilevel approach

A questionnaire that can properly measure communal coping in sport is required to further investigate and understand how individuals in a team collectively cope with stressful sport situations. The Communal Coping Strategies Inventory for Competitive Team Sports (CCSICTS; Leprince et al., 2019) needed to be validated at the collective level and in its situational form to be used in broader sport situations. The aims of the present work were to improve and further validate the factorial structure of the CCSICTS at both individual and team levels. With a sample of 380 French athletes, representing 56 teams, Study 1 showed support for a multilevel, hierarchical and four-dimensional factorial structure of the revised version of the CCSICTS at both individual and team levels. With a sample of 641 French athletes, representing 75 teams, Study 2 confirmed the factorial structure obtained in Study 1 at individual and team levels, and its validity in sport-specific situations. The results of both studies also highlighted a bifactorial structure, allowing interpretation of communal coping as an overall team capacity to adapt to stress. As such, the psychometric qualities of the CCSICTS-R have been established at individual and team levels. The CCSICTS-R enables proper and distinct measurement of the characteristics of communal coping in sport (i.e., hierarchical, multidimensional, multilevel, both situational and dispositional) and can be used from both research and practical perspectives.

The Sporting Club Maccabi de Paris in the Interwar Period (1924–1939): The Path of a Zionist Club

The Sporting Club (SC) Maccabi de Paris is both the first longstanding Jewish sports club in France and the most influential. Founded in 1924 by Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia, the club disseminated ‘philanthropic’ Zionism during the interwar period, uniting Jews from different communities around the idea of creating a Jewish State in Palestine. At the time, sport was considered a tool for regenerating bodies to create a ‘new Jewish man’. The club’s leaders fostered the idea of a strong and powerful Jewish people united in Judaism, and the participation of French athletes in the ‘Jewish Olympics’, the Maccabiah Games, represented the culmination of this propaganda. Rooted in cultural history, this article studies the birth and development of the SC Maccabi de Paris from its creation to the beginning of the Second World War.

French Athletics Stakeholders' Perceptions of Relevance and Expectations on Injury Prevention.

This study aimed to explore how stakeholders in athletics perceive the relevance of injury prevention, determine their communication preferences, and describe their expectations regarding injury prevention. We conducted a cross-sectional study using an exploratory online survey with high-level athletes (i. e. listed by the French ministry of sports), non-high-level athletes (i. e. all competitive level except high-level athletes), coaches, and health professionals licensed with the French Federation of Athletics. The survey was composed of three parts regarding stakeholder's characteristics (4 questions), perceived relevance (2 questions), communication preferences and expectations (3 questions) towards injury prevention. There were 2,864 responders to the survey. Almost all responders found that injury prevention is relevant (97.7% [95% CI 97.0% to 98.2%]), without any significant differences in the distribution between stakeholders' age, experience and sex (p>0.05). About three-quarters of the stakeholders preferred to find injury prevention information on a website (77.4%) without significant differences between stakeholders' categories (p>0.05); other media to find injury prevention information was chosen by less than 50% of responders. Expectations about injury prevention were mainly explanations, advice and tips about injury knowledge, management and prevention, based on expert opinion and/or scientific research. In conclusion, these results confirm that injury prevention is a challenge shared by numerous stakeholders in athletics, within France, and provide some orientation on how and what information to disseminate to these stakeholders.

Lactic metabolism and swimming. Comparison between freestyle swimming and swimming with fins in french athletes

Compare lactatemia after freestyle and swimming with fins competitions among French athletes specialized in these sports. Fifty two athletes participated in the study, 32 athletes in freestyle and 20 with fins, 28 male and 24 female athletes. Lactatemia was measured on samples (n=102) obtained by micro puncture from the earlobe at 5th minute recovery [LA].Comparisons are made based on the race distance. Speed for the same distance is always higher when swimming with fins versus freestyle swimming. We calculated the working power (distance/speed) and the power provided by lactic metabolism ((LA)/time, M/min) to analyze the lactatemia as a function of work.Mean lactatemia increased during both swimming exercices with maximal values after 100m race. The lactatemia after swimming with fins is always highter than after freestyle swimming. Significant differences were found only for the 800‐1500m races (p<0.001).The power provided by lactic metabolism was maximal for short races. For 50,100, 200 and 400m it was higher when swimming with fins. For 1500 m the values were identical. The differences were not significant.The increase of lactatemia indicates the sollicitation of energy source producing lactic acid. According to Margaria and Edward and Di Prampero et al., a lactic process, i.e., the ATP and CP splitting may be sufficient to provide all the energy necessary for 5 to 10 sec physical exercise. And during short exercices of 30 sec, the oxygen stores may play an important rôle in postponing lactate production.The results indicate that lactic metabolim condition is identical in both exercise. This metabolim in more important during short race. With the power of work more important when swimming with fins, the lactic power is always higher, but not‐significant. So the most determinant parameter for lactic metabolim is the work power and not the type of exercice.

Acceptance by athletes of a virtual reality head-mounted display intended to enhance sport performance

While a growing number of studies have highlighted the potential of virtual reality (VR) to improve athletes’ skills, no research has yet focused on acceptance of a VR head-mounted display (VR-HMD) designed to increase sport performance. However, even if technological devices could potentially lead to performance improvement, athletes may not always accept them. To investigate this issue, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) examines if perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, and subjective norms (i.e., social influence) are positive predictors of intention to use a specific technology. The aims of the present study were to test with competitive athletes the validity of the TAM before a first use of a VR-HMD intended to enhance sport performance and to examine to what extent the level of practice and the type of sport practiced have an influence on the previous variables of the TAM. The study sample comprised 1162 French athletes (472 women, 690 men, Mage = 24.50 ± 8.51 years) who usually practiced a sport in competition (from recreational to international level). After reading a short text presenting the VR-HMD and its interests for sport performance, the participants filled out an online questionnaire assessing their acceptance of this technological device before a first use. The results of the structural equation modeling analysis revealed that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, and subjective norms were positive predictors of intention to use this VR-HMD, validating the suitability of the TAM for investigating the acceptance by athletes of a VR-HMD designed to increase their sport performance. The results also showed that athletes of all sport levels (a) had a significant intention to use VR, (b) found it quite useful (except for recreational athletes), quite easy to use, and quite pleasant to use, even if their entourage would not encourage them to use it (except for international athletes), and (c) found the VR-HMD easy and pleasant to use whatever the sport practiced. Notably some athletes (e.g., triathletes, swimmers, cyclists) did not find the VR-HMD significantly useful and did not have significant intention to use it to increase their performance. Identifying acceptance by athletes of such a device may increase the likelihood that it will be used by athletes of different levels and from different sports, so that they can benefit from all its advantages related to the improvement of their sport performance. Needs-based targeted interventions may also be conducted toward athletes who might be reluctant to integrate this type of device into their training.

A Temporal Study on Coach Behavior Profiles: Relationships With Athletes Coping and Affects Within Sport Competition.

The study aimed to identify coach behavior profiles and explore whether athletes from distinct profiles significantly differed on coping and affects experienced within 2hr before the competition and during the competition (measuring them 2hr after the competition). A sample of 306 French athletes (Mage = 22.24; SD = 4.91; 194 men and 112 women) participated in the study. The results revealed the emergence of two profiles: (a)a coaching engaged profile that stands out for moderate physical training and planning, technical skills, mental preparation, goal setting, competition strategies, personal rapport, and moderate negative personal rapport; and (b)a less engaged coaching profile with low physical training and planning, technical skills, mental preparation, goal setting, competition strategies, personal rapport, and moderate negative personal rapport. Memberships of coach behavior profiles were not confounded by athletes' practice experience, athlete's gender, and coach experience. Results of latent profile analyses with Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem method (BCH) method revealed that coping and affective states significantly differed across the coach behavior profiles. As a whole, the less engaged coaching profile engenders the worst outcomes in competition. In conclusion, the detection of less adaptive coaching profiles would be crucial to prevent negative outcomes in athletes during the competition. This might be using intervention programs adapted to the peculiarities of athletes from a particular coach behavior profiles.

The Educational Project in the Context of High-Performance Sports

The requirements of performance sport are becoming more and more time-consuming for athletes. Based on the work of Rosa, the article looks into the ability of athletes to reconcile their training project and the increasing requirements of practice at a high level. To address this issue, we interviewed 63 high-level French athletes who train at the French Institute of Sport. The results show that although the training project appears to be time-consuming, it is nonetheless a source of social balance and a reassuring choice for their future professional retraining. In order to preserve this educational project in the time-consuming context of high-performance sports, athletes on the one hand implement strategies of arrangement in order to produce an acceptable timetable, and on the other hand use this temporality as an adjustment variable allowing them to better manage temporal emergencies. By giving athletes a voice, this work deconstructs the idea of the incompatibility of educational and sports projects and offers recommendations to sports institutions.

Determinants of the adoption of injury risk reduction programmes in athletics (track and field): an online survey of 7715 French athletes

ObjectivesTo identify individual characteristics associated with the adoption of injury risk reduction programmes (IRRP) and to investigate the variations in sociocognitive determinants (ie, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and...

“I had a dream: it was to play the games”. Sports socialisation processes of French paralympic athletes

In this article, we provide a diachronic and synchronic study of the socialisation processes that contribute to participation in Paralympic Games. We will focus both on the socializations that were involved in the engagement in elite sports practice, and on the socializations that took place during the preparation for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Thirteen athletes who took part in the Rio Paralympic Games were interviewed. Beyond the diversity of the sports socialisation experiences of French athletes who participated in the Paralympic Games, this article also highlights similarities: the results highlight i) the importance of early socialisation to sport practice; ii) that commitment in high-performance paralympic sport is determined by a very rapid progression in the athletes’ performances; iii) the essential role of family as an emotional, financial and organisational support. These results reveal social levers and brakes to the optimisation of Paralympic performance, and in this sense can be used to guide the accompaniment of athletes by Paralympic institutions.

Dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak: Are some athletes’ coping profiles more adaptive than others?

ABSTRACT The public health policies and sanitary measures taken by governments in various countries to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. lockdown, social distancing) have major implications for athletes. The radical changes are challenging and risk causing significant career disruption to athletes, with subsequent negative psychological effects. Thus, the ways athletes cope with such adversity is of critical importance. The present study aimed to identify athletes’ coping profiles using a person-centred approach, based on their reported use of multiple coping strategies in response to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, and to compare levels of anxiety, stress appraisals, interpersonal coping strategies, and availability and appreciation of the major sources of support across profiles. A total of 526 French athletes competing at national to elite levels answered an online questionnaire during the lockdown. Latent profile analysis results yielded four distinct coping profiles (i.e. self-reliant, engaged, avoidant, active and social). The MANOVA showed that athletes belonging to the four profiles differed on anxiety, stress appraisals, social support, and interpersonal coping. In particular, avoidant copers reported high levels of anxiety, threat, and uncontrollability, and appeared less able to regulate responses to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Using a person-centred approach, the findings could inform the development of more adequate care, support, and intervention for athletes, especially avoidant copers, who were characterized by the least effective coping skills and resources. Accordingly, stress reappraisal and stress mindset interventions could be promising approaches to effectively manage pandemic-related impact during and after the COVID-19 crisis. Highlights The COVID-19 outbreak has major implications for athletes and is causing significant disruption to their careers. Using a person-centred approach, four coping profiles emerge showing athletes' preferred use of several coping strategies in response. The four coping profiles (i.e. self-reliant, engaged, avoidant, active and social) differentiate distinct groups of athletes in relation to anxiety, stress appraisals, social support, and interpersonal coping. Avoidant copers were characterized by the least effective coping skills and social context of coping. Management of the COVID-19 situation may be more problematic for them than other in mitigating its negative psychological effects. Using a person-centred approach, the findings could inform the development of more adequate care, support, and intervention for athletes, especially avoidant copers, who were characterized by the least effective coping skills and resources.