Psychological Characteristics and Their Development in Olympic Champions

This study was designed to examine psychological characteristics and their development in Olympic champions. Ten U.S. Olympic champions (winners of 32 Olympic medals) were interviewed, as were one of their coaches ( n = 10), and a parent, guardian, or significant other ( n = 10). A battery of psychological inventories was also administered to the athletes. It was found that the athletes were characterized by: (a) the ability to cope with and control anxiety; (b) confidence; (c) mental toughness/resiliency; (d) sport intelligence; (e) the ability to focus and block out distractions; (f) competitiveness; (g) a hard-work ethic; (h) the ability to set and achieve goals; (i) coachability; (j) high levels of…