Super-elite athletes have certain traits, according to the authors:
- Early key unfavourable life experiences near positive sports events
- Obsession/perfectionism, ruthlessness/selfishness, and higher sport emphasis over other elements of life
- Focusing on outcomes and mastery and using counterphobic and/or “total preparation” tactics to perform well under pressure
- Coaching that satisfied their physical and mental requirements
- Coming back from serious adult performance failures and professional “turning points” that boost drive to succeed
- More diverse youth sports participation and longer sport-specific practise and contests
- Consistently improved performance throughout adulthood, winning their first gold medal after 21, with 6 years of practise.
Early key unpleasant life experiences near positive sports events: The authors observed that many super-elite sportsmen had early life crises including divorce or death. They also had major sporting successes like winning a championship or making a national squad. The authors think these events strengthened super-elite athletes’ resilience and drive.
Super-elite athletes have a larger proportional significance of sport over other parts of life, stronger obsessiveness/perfectionism, and sport-related ruthlessness/selfishness. They also train and compete more meticulously. They are also more likely to be cruel or selfish to succeed.
Results and mastery coincide concentration, counterphobic and/or “total preparation” methods to improve performance under pressure: Super-elite athletes focus on both competitive results and sport expertise, according to the authors. They utilise counterphobic coping (seeking out difficult situations) and thorough preparation (planning for every potential eventuality) to perform well under pressure.
Super-elite athletes have coaches who better address their physical and emotional demands, according to the authors. These coaches assist and guide their players to train and compete at the best level.
Returning from serious adult performance failures and professional “turning points” with renewed drive to excel: During their careers, several super-elite athletes had substantial performance setbacks. They recovered from these losses and achieved much more success. These events may have strengthened super-elite athletes’ mental resilience and drive.
More diverse youth sports engagement and longer sport-specific practise and competitions: Super-elite athletes engage in more youth sports and practise and compete in them longer than elite athletes. This shows that super-elite athletes develop via early exposure to several sports and significant practise and competition in their chosen sport.
Improvement in performance during adulthood led to a first gold medal after 21 6 years of practise: The authors observed that super-elite athletes improve longer than elite athletes. They usually earn their first gold medal later in their careers. That shows super-elite athletes may maintain their performance over time. (Guellich et al., 2019)
Reference
Guellich, Arne & Hardy, Lew & Kuncheva, Ludmila & Woodman, Tim & Laing, Stewart & Barlow, Matthew & Evans, Lynne & Rees, Tim & Abernethy, Bruce & Côté, Jean & Warr, Chelsea & Wraith, Lizzie. (2019). Developmental Biographies of Olympic Super- Elite and Elite Athletes: A Multidisciplinary Pattern Recognition Analysis. International Journal of Environment and Health. 2. 1-24.