There are certain moments during competition that appear to carry great psychological significance, when the momentum starts to shift in one direction or another. These situations require athletes to remain completely focused and calm in the face of difficult circumstances. Marathoners will talk about a key moment in the race when everyone is tired and the race can go either way, such as a fleeting chance to pass an opponent or just to hold form and stay with the plan. For a triathlete, is could be the final mile in the run after seriously under-performing; for a swimmer or track and field athlete, it could be how you react to a perceived bad refereeing decision or to going behind in a meet your team is expected to win.

Think about times when things have not gone quite to plan and how you reacted. The journey towards peak performance is rarely a perfectly smooth road and we learn from our mistakes – at least we should. Do setbacks shake your self-belief and lower your motivation or act as a catalyst for even greater effort?

Even great athletes and teams suffer setbacks. Olympic athlete Steve Backley is a prime example. In his book The Winning Mind, Backley cites his psychological strengths and, at times, his weaknesses as major determinants of whether he performed near to or below his own strict targets in competition . He talks of the transition from young up-and-coming javelin thrower to major international competitor when, after experiencing success so often as a junior, he found himself under-prepared for the mental hurdles and barriers created by higher-level competition. Backley says psychological strategies were the key to helping him to deal with this competitive stress.

Most top athletes and coaches believe that psychological factors play as crucial a role as physical attributes and learned skills in the make-up of champions. When physical skills are evenly matched – as they tend to be in competitive sport – the competitor with greater control over his or her mind will usually emerge as the victor. Mental strength is not going to compensate for lack of skill, but in close contests it can make the difference between winning and losing.

A key question for sport and exercise psychologists is whether champions have simply inherited the dominant psychological traits necessary for success or whether mental toughness can be acquired through training and experience. Recent research has attempted to explore the concept of mental toughness in sport more thoroughly, and it appears that, while some people are naturally more tough-minded than others, people can be ‘toughened-up’ with the correct approach to training.

What do we mean by mental toughness? It is probably easiest to define in terms of how it affects behaviour and performance.

A mentally tough athlete is likely to:

1. Achieve relatively consistent performances regardless of situational factors.

2. Retain a confident, positive, optimistic outlook, even when things are not going well, and not ‘choke’ under pressure.

3. Deal with distractions without letting them interfere with optimal focus.

4. Tolerate pain and discomfort.

5. Remain persistent when the ‘going gets tough’.

6. Have the resilience to bounce back from disappointments.

Characteristics of mental toughness

There are considered  four major influences on toughening, as follows:

1. Early life experiences.

Both human and animal studies have shown links between exposure to stressors in early life and reduced fear or emotionality when exposed to threats in adulthood – particularly if the subject learns to deal with the stress in an appropriate way. This leads to feelings of confidence and control in all situations;

2. Passive toughening.

Intermittent exposure seems to protect against depletion of ‘stress hormones’ and is linked with their quicker returns to baseline levels. In other words, people become less sensitive and more tolerant of stress;

3. Active toughening.

Physical fitness gained through aerobic conditioning is thought to be an important means of self-toughening. This is also related to the application of control;

4. Aging.

Some research claims that this has the opposite effects to the other three, tending to make people more sensitive to and less tolerant of stress.


Clearly, active and passive toughening are the most relevant manipulations for athletes and can be applied in a number of practical ways. Stress inoculation training is an obvious application, but this is probably best approached with the aid of a sport psychologist. Below you will find some examples of how mental over-load may be applied to training sessions in order to achieve some degree of toughening.

Rod Laver, the Australian tennis legend, has described how he used practice sessions to simulate ‘tough’ match conditions. Laver felt that fatigue placed great strain on the concentration which was crucial to success in long matches. To simulate these conditions, Laver forced himself to concentrate and work even harder during the latter stages of training sessions, when he was tired, so that he became used to the mental strain of such conditions. He has cited this as one of the key factors in his long-lasting success.

Simulation training is a great way to prepare mentally for the challenges of competition, and this can include mental as well as physical stressors. For example, a swimmer could increase the mental pressures in a practice by starting each set 10 secs behind his closest competitor, and thus getting used to coming from behind and not giving up when all seems hopeless. A triathlete with an over-reliance on the cycling leg could do a few relays where she is NOT the cyclist to strengthen the other areas of competition.

To enhance the stress still further, cyclists could do time trials, where the times are made public. The coach might also creat distractions during practice that are similar to the distractions found in a meet or race.

Swimming is a sport with plenty of breaks between events that allow time for dwelling on past events or self-doubting. Using imagery and positive self-talk during dead time in order to remain calm and in control can be an effective strategy. Mentally tough competitors are likely to use strategies that reinforce their self-belief at times of crisis. And these strategies can be rehearsed in practice situations.

With a little invention, simulation training can be used for most athletes, and the opportunity to deal with mental stressors in controlled situations can be an invaluable way to toughen up in preparation for the very real challenges of competition.

ABOUT BETH KENNEY

Coach Beth Kenney is a USA Triathlon Level II coach, a United States Cycling Federation coach and a member of American Swim Coaches Association. In addition to coaching Team Pegasus, Coach Kenney is the assistant director of the Team Vortex (formerly www.JuniorTri.com) and is a race director with several triathlons and duathlons to her credit. She is the co-director of the Marshfield Youth Biathlon which for eight years has been providing talented young athletes with a safe and challenging course to hone their skills. Additionally, she coaches US swimming and is the cross country and track coach for the Duxbury Girl's High School.

In 2002, Beth finished 10th in her age group at Ironman USA and 2nd in her age group at the Great Floridian Half Ironman. She has had numerous podium finishes, including 1st age group at Monster Triathlon, Boston. Beth has completed 9 marathons, including 7 Boston and is the mother of Caitlin Shea-Kenney, a professional triathlete, winner of the National Under-23 series and the 2004 NCAA Triathlon Champion.Beth has attended 5 Triathlon World Championships.