Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers (LEAP)

Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers (LEAP)

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Lauren Burns

Bachelor Health Science (Naturopathy), Endeavour College of Natural Medicine

School of Health and Biomedical Sciences

College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths

RMIT University

November 2020

Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers

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Declaration

I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of

the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to

qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis is the result of work

which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the approved

research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is

acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed. I

acknowledge the support I have received for my research through the provision of an

Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

Lauren Burns

Date: 25th November 2020


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Acknowledgements

Water is fluid, soft and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and

cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft and yielding will overcome whatever is

rigid and hard. This is another paradox: What is soft is strong. Lao Tzu

One of the strong themes that emerged from my research was the power of

interpersonal relationships. Whether in elite sport or undertaking a PhD, support is a

crucial factor in bringing dreams to fruition. It is with sincere gratitude that I thank the

people who have been involved with me along this scholarly journey, and some who

have been a part of both my academic and sporting journey.

Firstly, a huge heart-felt thank you to my supervisors; Professor Stephen Bird,

Professor Marc Cohen and Dr Juanita Weissensteiner, for your expertise, insight,

time and guidance. To Dr Liza Oates, Professor Jeff Simons, Dr Noel Blundell, Dr

Rosie Stanimirovic, Dr Deidre Anderson, Tanya White and Dr Hannah Macdougall

for your contributions, knowledge and support. To Dr Natalie Borg for your

mentorship and keeping me on track. To my fellow PhD students Nicole Bijlsma and

Negar Jamshidi, for whom it’s been a pleasure to share this roller-coaster ride with.

To all of the world-class athletes who volunteered their time. Without which, none of

this work would be possible. Sharing your stories and lived experience has been an

incredible contribution to this work and from which many future athletes will benefit.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

My sincere appreciation for all of the supporters and collaborators who contributed to

bringing this project to fruition: Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS), Australian

Paralympic Committee (APC), Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), New South Wales

Office of Sport, New South Wales Institute of Sport, Australian Olympic Committee

(AOC), Sports Australia Hall of Fame (SAHoF), and Cogstate.


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Eternal gratitude to The Jacka Foundation of Natural Therapies and RMIT University

for providing a scholarship throughout my candidature.

Lastly, but certainly not least, my family; Nath, Mac and Piper, who kept me sane,

gave me balance and made me down the books at 3pm every weekday, ready for

school pick up.


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Table of Contents

Declaration .................................................................................................................. ii

Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... iii

List of Tables .............................................................................................................. xi

List of Figures ............................................................................................................ xiii

List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................. xiv

Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 1

Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................ 4

1.1. Introduction ................................................................................................ 4

1.2. Lifestyle and Wellbeing: Theoretical Underpinnings and Frameworks ...... 4

1.3. Being an Elite Athlete ................................................................................ 6

1.4. Classification ............................................................................................. 8

1.5. Complexities in Supporting the Developing Athlete .................................. 9

1.6. Alignment of Olympic and Wellbeing Values ........................................... 12

1.7. Wellbeing, Lifestyle and its Importance for the Athlete ........................... 13

1.8. Looking Back to Move Forward ............................................................... 14

1.9. Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement ........................................................ 15

1.10. Aim of Research, Research Objectives, and Research Questions ....... 17

1.11. Research Aims ...................................................................................... 18

1.12. Thesis Summary ................................................................................... 18

1.13. Flow of Research .................................................................................. 19

Chapter 2: The Role of Lifestyle in Facilitating Elite Sport Performance .................. 23

2.1. Lifestyle ................................................................................................... 23

2.1.1. Psychological ................................................................................. 24

2.1.1.1. Mindfulness ........................................................................ 24

2.1.1.2. Meditation ........................................................................... 25

2.1.1.3. Visualisation / Mental Imagery ........................................... 25

2.1.1.4. Resilience ........................................................................... 26

2.1.2. Diet ................................................................................................. 26

2.1.3. Activities ......................................................................................... 27

2.1.3.1. Yoga ................................................................................... 27

2.1.3.2. Pilates ................................................................................ 28

2.1.3.3. Recreation / Time Out ........................................................ 28


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2.1.4. Support Network ............................................................................ 28

2.1.4.1. Interpersonal Relationships / Social Connection ................ 28

2.1.4.2. Coach ................................................................................. 29

2.1.5. Therapies ....................................................................................... 29

2.1.5.1. Massage ............................................................................. 29

2.1.5.2. Physiotherapy .................................................................... 30

2.1.6. Recovery ........................................................................................ 30

2.1.6.1. Water Immersion and Hot and/or Cold Therapy ................ 30

2.1.6.2. Sauna ................................................................................. 31

2.1.6.3. Ice Bathing and Cryotherapy .............................................. 31

2.1.6.4. Flotation ............................................................................. 31

2.1.7. Vocation / Education ...................................................................... 32

2.2. Summary ................................................................................................. 32

Chapter 3: Athlete Development - A Narrative Review ............................................. 34

3.1. Application of Lifestyle Factors ................................................................ 42

Chapter 4: Qualitative Methodology .......................................................................... 47

4.1. Introduction and Overview ....................................................................... 47

4.2. Rationale for Qualitative Research Design ............................................. 48

4.3. Research Sample .................................................................................... 48

4.4. Research Design Overview ..................................................................... 49

4.5. Publications of Relevance ....................................................................... 50

4.6. Review of Current Models ....................................................................... 50

4.7. Ethics Approval ....................................................................................... 50

4.8. Data Collection and Methods .................................................................. 51

4.9. Interviews ................................................................................................ 52

4.10. Data Analysis and Synthesis ................................................................. 53

4.11. Ethical Considerations ........................................................................... 53

4.12. Trustworthiness ..................................................................................... 54

4.13. Limitations and Strengths ...................................................................... 55

4.14. Chapter Summary ................................................................................. 56

Chapter 5: Lifestyles and Mindsets of Olympic, Paralympic and World Champions: Is

an Integrated Approach the Key to Elite Performance? ............................................ 59

5.1. Abstract ................................................................................................... 60

5.2. Introduction .............................................................................................. 61


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5.3. Method .................................................................................................... 62

5.3.1. Participants .................................................................................... 62

5.3.2. Participant Involvement .................................................................. 63

5.3.3. Procedures ..................................................................................... 65

5.3.4. Data Analysis ................................................................................. 66

5.4. Results .................................................................................................... 67

5.5. Discussion ............................................................................................... 76

5.5.1. Overview ........................................................................................ 76

5.5.2. Limitations and Strengths .............................................................. 77

5.5.3. Conclusions ................................................................................... 78

Chapter 6: Supportive Interpersonal Relationships – A key Component to High-

Performance Sport .................................................................................................... 80

6.1. Social Scaffolds Support Athletes ........................................................... 81

6.2. Having A Laugh ....................................................................................... 82

6.3. Creating A High Performance Culture ..................................................... 83

6.4. Overcoming Barriers ............................................................................... 83

Chapter 7: A Survey of Lifestyle and Performance Factors in Mastery and Pre-Elite

Athletes ..................................................................................................................... 88

7.1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 88

7.2. Abstract ................................................................................................... 88

7.3. Introduction .............................................................................................. 89

7.4. Aims ........................................................................................................ 90

7.5. Methods ................................................................................................... 91

7.5.1. Instrument – The Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers (LEAP)

Online Survey .......................................................................................... 91

7.5.2. Ethical Considerations ................................................................... 91

7.5.3. Recruitment, Participants and Procedures .................................... 92

7.5.4. Data collection ............................................................................... 94

7.6. Analysis ................................................................................................... 94

7.6.1. Checks for statistical violations ...................................................... 94

7.6.2. Qualitative Data ............................................................................. 95

7.7. Results .................................................................................................... 95

7.7.1. Performance Factors / Strategies .................................................. 97

7.7.1.1. Daily Training Environment (DTE) ..................................... 97


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7.7.1.2. Time Spent Training/Travelling (Table 7.2) ........................ 97

7.7.1.3. Weight Division Practices ................................................... 99

7.7.1.4. Recovery Practices (Table 7.3) .......................................... 99

7.7.1.5. Service Providers (Table 7.4) ........................................... 101

7.7.2. Interpersonal Relationships ......................................................... 103

7.7.2.1. Social Support and Support Network (Table 7.5) ............. 103

7.7.3. Lifestyle Practices ........................................................................ 105

7.7.3.1. Relaxation ........................................................................ 105

7.7.3.2. Sleep (during competition/training) .................................. 105

7.7.3.3. Diet ................................................................................... 105

7.7.4. Psychological Skills and Attributes (Table 7.10) .......................... 111

7.7.5. Written Response Questions (Tables 7.11 – 7.13) ...................... 112

7.8. Discussion ............................................................................................. 116

7.8.1. Recovery Practices and Psychological Support .......................... 117

7.8.2. Perceived Support ....................................................................... 118

7.8.3. Nutrition and Sleep ...................................................................... 119

7.8.4. Able-Bodied/Athletes with a Disability .......................................... 119

7.8.5. Additional analysis not included in submitted manuscript ............ 120

7.9. Limitations and Strengths of this study .................................................. 120

7.10. Future Directions ................................................................................. 121

7.11. Conclusion ........................................................................................... 122

Chapter 8: General Discussion ............................................................................... 124

8.1. Overview ............................................................................................... 124

8.2. Overview of Key Findings ...................................................................... 126

8.2.1. Study 1: Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers – (LEAP) interviews

............................................................................................................... 126

8.2.2. Study 2: Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers – Survey ............. 129

8.3. Mastery Athlete Framework .................................................................. 131

8.4. Theoretical Implications and Considerations ......................................... 133

8.4.1. Advocating an Integrated Holistic Approach to related theory and

research ................................................................................................. 133

8.4.2. Lifestyle Factors ........................................................................... 134

8.4.3. Three-Dimensional Athlete Development Model (3D-AD) ........... 135

8.4.3.1. Performance Alliance ....................................................... 135


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8.4.3.2. Gold Medal Teamwork ..................................................... 136

8.5. Practical Implications and Considerations ............................................. 137

8.5.1. Limitations .................................................................................... 138

8.6. Conclusion ............................................................................................. 139

8.6.1. Implications and Scope ................................................................ 141

For a List of Publications, Conference Presentations, Business / Community

Presentations and Awards see appendices 16 – 19. .............................................. 142

Chapter 9: Addendum: Impact ................................................................................ 143

9.1. LEAP Research Impact Summary ......................................................... 143

9.1.1. Publications .................................................................................. 143

9.1.2. Industry Application ...................................................................... 143

9.1.3. Informing Theoretical Application ................................................. 144

9.1.4. Presentations to Wider Sporting Community ............................... 145

9.1.5. Social Media ................................................................................ 146

9.1.6. Statement of Support from Primary PhD Supervisor Professor

Stephen Bird .......................................................................................... 147

9.1.7. Letter of Support from Rosanna Stanimirovic, Psychologist and

Program Manager: Gold Medal Ready, Australian Institute of Sport ..... 148

9.1.8. Letter of Support from Daniela Di Toro, Paralympic Australia Athlete

Welfare and Engagement Officer ........................................................... 149

9.1.9. Award Confirmation – Vice Chancellor’s Prize for Research Impact

HDR ....................................................................................................... 150

References .............................................................................................................. 151

Appendices ............................................................................................................. 164

Appendix 1: Lifestyles and mindsets of Olympic, Paralympic and world

champions: is an integrated approach the key to elite performance? .......... 165

Appendix 2: Participant Information Sheet/Consent Form ........................... 174

Appendix 3: ASEHAPP 15-16 COHEN-BURNS Approval Letter ................. 177

Appendix 4: Interview Script ......................................................................... 178

Appendix 5: Representative Quotes from Athletes ...................................... 183

Appendix 6: Supportive interpersonal relationships – a key component to

high-performance sport ................................................................................ 188

Appendix 7: PIS LEAP Survey ..................................................................... 193

Appendix 8: SEHAPP 72-18 BIRD-BURNS Approval Letter Copy .............. 196


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Appendix 9: NSO Information Sheet ............................................................ 198

Appendix 10: Letter of Support and Email Sent from the AOC .................... 200

Appendix 11: Letter of Invitation from Lauren to Athletes ............................ 202

Appendix 12: LEAP Survey .......................................................................... 203

Appendix 13: FTEM (Foundation, Talent, Elite, Mastery) Developmental

Framework ................................................................................................... 220

Appendix 14: The Integrated Performance Health Management and Coaching

Model ............................................................................................................ 221

Appendix 15: International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research

(ICCMR), Abstract ........................................................................................ 222

Appendix 16: The Holistic Athlete Career Model .......................................... 223

Appendix 17: NSW Office of Sport Impact and Application .......................... 224

Appendix 18: List of Publications ................................................................. 225

Appendix 19: Conference Presentations ...................................................... 226

Appendix 20: Business / Community Presentations ..................................... 227

Appendix 21: Awards ................................................................................... 228


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List of Tables

Table 1.1. Research Objectives, Questions, Chapter and Aim(s) of the Study ........ 21

Table 3.1. Overview and Lifestyle Applications in Influential Athlete

Development Models, Constructs & Frameworks .................................... 36

Table 5.1. Summary of participant sample and number of key international

events competed at, along with gold medals won ................................... 64

Table 5.2. Sample questions from the interview guide ............................................. 65

Table 5.3. Higher order emergent themes and sub-themes ..................................... 67

Table 5.4. Representative Quotes from Athletes ...................................................... 69

Table 5.5. What are the new findings? ...................................................................... 79

Table 5.6. How might it impact on clinical practice in the near future? ..................... 79

Table 6.1. Athlete representative quotes and summary of number of Olympic

Games attended, along with gold medals won ........................................ 84

Table 7.1. Athlete classification, sports included in the survey along with

number of athletes as per FTEM classification and AB / AwD

athletes .................................................................................................... 96

Table 7.2. Comparison between athlete categories for travel and training time. ...... 98

Table 7.3. Recovery Practices: Percentage of IP and n-IP athletes, and AB

and AwD athletes who practiced these techniques and procedure,

statistical comparisons made using chi-square with contingency

tables. .................................................................................................... 100

Table 7.4. Athletes utilisation of service providers, their perceived

effectiveness and referrals, comparisons made using chi-square

with contingency tables. ......................................................................... 102

Table 7.5. Support Network: importance, achievement classification (IP/n-IP),

Able-Bodied/Athletes with a Disability classification, nature of the

relationship and times of support ........................................................... 104

Table 7.6. Source of Dietary advice by IP / n-IP athletes and AB / AwD

athletes .................................................................................................. 105

Table 7.7. Types of Diets consumed by IP / n-IP athletes and AB / AwD

athletes .................................................................................................. 107

Table 7.8. Type of meal preparation by IP / n-IP athletes and AB / AwD

athletes .................................................................................................. 109


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Table 7.9. Type of Beverages consumed by IP and n-IP athletes .......................... 110

Table 7.10. Psychological Attributes: percentage of IP / n-IP and AB / AwD

athletes who agree these psychological attributes are vital to their

success .................................................................................................. 111

Table 7.11. Representative quotes in response to the question: ............................ 112

Table 7.12. Representative quotes of most frequent responses to the

question: ................................................................................................ 113

Table 7.13. Representative quotes of most frequent responses to the

question: ................................................................................................ 114

Table 7.14. Representative quotes of most frequent responses to: ........................ 116

Table 8.1. Relationships: support, coaches, and the power of laughter ................. 128

Table 8.2. Higher-order emergent themes and sub-themes - UPDATED ............... 130


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List of Figures

Figure 1.1. The FTEM Framework18 ........................................................................... 9

Figure 1.2. The Athlete Development Triangle (ADT) ............................................... 10

Figure 1.3. Flow of Research .................................................................................... 19

Figure 2.1. Lifestyle Categories ................................................................................ 24

Figure 5.1. Contributors to World Class Performance .............................................. 75

Figure 6.1. Strengthening Interpersonal Relationships in Elite Sport – A Visual

Summary .................................................................................................. 87

Figure 7.1. Source of Dietary advice for IP / n-IP athletes ...................................... 106

Figure 7.2. Source of Dietary advice for and AB / AwD athletes ............................. 106

Figure 7.3. Types of Diets eaten by IP and n-IP athletes ........................................ 108

Figure 7.4. Types of Diets eaten by AB / AD athletes ............................................. 108

Figure 7.5. Type of meal preparation by IP and n-IP athletes ................................. 109

Figure 7.6. Type of meal preparation by AB and AwD athletes .............................. 109

Figure 7.7. Type of Beverages consumed by IP and n-IP athletes ......................... 110

Figure 7.8. Type of Beverages consumed by AB and AwD athletes ...................... 110

Figure 8.1. Research Summary .............................................................................. 125

Figure 8.2. Mastery Athlete Framework .................................................................. 132

Figure 8.3. Lifestyle Categories – A Holistic Framework ........................................ 134

Figure 8.4. Levers for Change ................................................................................ 142

Figure 9.1. Previous 3D-AD2 .................................................................................. 145

Figure 9.2. 3D-AD3: Updated to include Performance & Lifestyle Practices,

Complementary Practitioners and Other Pursuits .................................. 145


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List of Abbreviations

AIS Australian Institute of Sport

AWE Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement

DOMS Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

FTEM Foundation, Talent, Elite and Mastery Athlete Development Framework

HREC Human Research Ethics Committee

IOC International Olympic Committee

LEAP Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers

LTAD Long Term Athlete Development

MAC Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment

NSO National Sporting Organisation

PIS Participant Information Statement

TD Talent Development

TI Talent Identification

3D-AD Three-Dimensional Athlete Development Model

VIS Victorian Institute of Sport


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Abstract

This research aimed to explore the lifestyle practices and mindset to which world-

class champion athletes attribute their success and how these practices are utilised

by elite and pre-elite athletes. The intention was to begin by learning from the greats;

the mastery level athletes who have time and time again succeeded at the highest

levels of international competition within their sport. To engage the voice of these

athletes utilise their practical and meaningful knowledge and learnings, and to apply

their lived experience to inform underpinning strategy, education and support.

Following this, the aim was to ascertain the awareness, knowledge, and practical

application of athletes underneath these mastery level athletes, to establish

recommendations and effective strategies to support them.

A narrative review of influential athlete development models, constructs and

frameworks, revealed that lifestyle factors such as diet and nutrition, sleep, recovery,

and recreational activities are rarely considered in such models. This suggested that

these important influences that contribute to athlete success and career longevity are

often neglected.

To gain a deeper understanding of elite athletes’ lifestyles, the ‘Lifestyles of Elite

Athletic Performers (LEAP)’ Study 1 was conceived, and interviews with ten World,

Olympic, and Paralympic champion athletes were conducted. A thematic analysis of

these interviews revealed four dominant and overlapping themes that included: (i)

psychological attributes, (ii) interpersonal relationships, (iii) performance strategies,

and (iv) lifestyle practices. Notably, every athlete (inclusive of able-bodied and

athletes with a disability) attributed their ultimate success to psychological skills

rather than physical factors. Furthermore, most athletes reported their strong belief

in; and systematic application of; mental rehearsal skills and recovery practices; as

essential contributors to their success. This culminated in developing a new model:

‘Contributors to World Class Performance,’ which emphasised that championship

level performances are likely to occur at the nexus of a robust psychological profile,

effective performance strategies, interpersonal support, and positive lifestyle

practices. The key to this model was recognising that these elements did not work in


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isolation, and athletes need to shift focus across these domains as needed and

balance these elements through effective self-regulation, experience, exposure, and

adaptation. This study was published in the esteemed British Journal of Sports

Medicine (BJSM), which holds one of the highest impact factor ratings in sport

(12.68).

In particular, the findings from the LEAP Study 1 established the importance of

interpersonal relationships on performance and explored the athlete/coach

relationships, social scaffolds supporting athletes, laughter, and creating a high-

performance culture. This led to the publication of an editorial piece in the BJSM that

highlighted how quality relationships assist in attenuating the stress response and

presented a new model: Strengthening interpersonal relationships in elite sport—a

visual summary.

Following the interviews, LEAP Study 2 was conducted. This involved a survey with

134 athletes who were classified as International Podium (IP) or non-International

Podium athletes (n-IP). The aims of the study were to ascertain if there were

differences in the aforementioned domains between: IP & n-IP athletes or between

able-bodied athletes & athletes with a disability. The results of this study confirmed

the themes of the LEAP Study 1, with a key finding being that a robust psychological

profile, along with effective recovery practices and supportive interpersonal

relationships were perceived to be critical elements of successful performance.

Notably, this study revealed that many athletes in particular pre-elite level athletes

wished they had access to psychological skills and support services earlier in their

career. Furthermore, many athletes said in retrospect; they wished they had left or

changed their club earlier in their athletic careers. Additionally, athletes shared a

desire for greater knowledge, information, mentoring, and fostering of their autonomy

earlier in their developmental journey.

The key outputs from this body of research stress the importance of interpersonal

relationships for athlete success and career longevity. This key finding has

substantial implications for supporting emerging and elite athletes and their support

providers (i.e., policy, strategy, education, support and prioritisation of resources,

etc.) as well as a notable theoretical contribution to the existent body of knowledge


3

specific to athlete development and high performance. This research adds to existing

models of interdisciplinary practice and provides vital information for those

responsible for overseeing and managing athlete development, existing models of

interdisciplinary practice, and has already informed related policy, strategy,

education, and research at a state and federal level within Australia.

Keywords: lifestyle, athlete, Olympic, Paralympic, holistic

Publications resulting from the work are presented within this thesis.


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Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1. Introduction

This chapter will provide a brief overview and context of what it takes to become a

successful elite athlete and refers to the lifestyle and wellbeing issues associated

with attaining this level of performance. This work aims to better understand the

lifestyles and perceptions of elite athletic performers, and how they link to success in

the sporting arena.

1.2. Lifestyle and Wellbeing: Theoretical Underpinnings and

Frameworks

Many factors contribute to success in elite sporting performance such as training,

intrinsic motivation, skill and genetics. However, all athletes must also contend with

general living and effectively manage their dietary and nutritional needs, stress,

mental wellbeing, and engage in various lifestyle practices and social activities that

impact them both personally and as athletes.

Although some individual lifestyle factors including visualisation, diet and mental

preparation have been explored in the context of how they enhance elite sport

outcomes, the broader concept of the athlete’s whole lifestyle has not been

comprehensively studied, particularly in the context of how it relates to athletic

performance. This research aims to compile an overview of the lifestyle and mindset

practices commonly adopted by elite athletes and explore these practices in relation

to their effects on sporting performance.

Athletes are not just the sum of their athletic performance. Rather, they are

individuals who, through their specialised training, along with other practices such as

strength and conditioning, recovery, physiotherapy and sports psychology become

conditioned to attain peak performance in their chosen field. The culmination of

factors involved in each individual’s lifestyle is the focus and interest of this work.


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Lifestyle in its simplest form is simply what we do with our lives. All the things we do

as part of our activities of daily living contribute to our lifestyle. ‘Lifestyle’ is the all-

encompassing term for what we do, and the choices we make within our days, such

as working, studying, eating, drinking, sleeping and socialising, along with activities

such as taking the dog for a walk, yoga or going to the gym.

‘Lifestyle’ by its very nature is vast, ubiquitous and constantly in flux. Defining

lifestyle is not as easy as one might think. This is largely as it pertains to so many

elements of a person’s life and spans cultural, geographical and environmental

considerations. Furthermore, a person’s lifestyle is constantly changing. For

example, an athlete who may have a regimented program, may find one year their

lifestyle involves vast amounts of international travel, followed by years of home-

based domestic competition. These lifestyles are very different yet by the same

athlete in the same sport.

In his paper ‘Defining Lifestyle’, Mikael Jensen1 reflects “lifestyle at the individual

level is intertwined with a self-identity. An alternative view at the individual level is

that lifestyle is intertwined with individual habits, goals and beliefs.” (p. 71) Giddens2

definition is inclusive of this changeability and also sits within the lens of self-identity:

“Lifestyles are routine practices, the routines incorporated into habits of dress,

eating, modes of acting and favoured milieus for encountering others; but the

routines followed are reflexively open to change in the light of the mobile nature of

self-identity.” (p. 81)

Chaney3 provides a more simplistic explanation: “Lifestyles are sets of practices and

attitudes that make sense in particular contexts” (p. 5) Whereas Lutzenhiser and

Gossard4 define lifestyle as “distinctive modes of existence that are accomplished by

persons and groups through socially sanctioned and culturally intelligible patterns of

action.” (p. 215)

Within the domain of athletic performance the term ‘lifestyle’ is rarely used or defined

in this context. Through the lens of health, the Oxford University Press,5 define a

healthy lifestyle as:


6

A lifestyle which includes activities and habits that encourage the development of total physical, mental, and spiritual fitness, and which reduces the risk of major illness. Healthy activities and habits include regular exercise; a balanced, nutritious diet; adequate sleep and relaxation; abstaining from smoking and taking nonessential drugs; and moderating the intake of alcohol.

The National Wellness Institute of Australia6 define a wellness lifestyle as:

The commitment and approach adopted by an individual aiming to reach their highest potential.

Lifestyle factors and their effect on health and wellbeing, in the context of the general

population, have been well described.7 8 The importance of addressing modifiable

lifestyle factors which are detrimental to our health such as drinking alcohol,

smoking, eating junk food or inactivity have also been widely researched and

reported in the published literature.9 10 Additionally, there is strong evidence showing

the benefits of a wellness lifestyle that promotes health through exercise, eating

nutritious food and encourages a strong social network.10 The lifestyle of an elite

athlete is therefore fundamentally intertwined with their sport. Given the clear

association between modifiable dietary and lifestyle factors associated with health

and wellbeing these considerations should underpin the positive lifestyle practices of

elite athletes to enhance their success. The question moving forward is: to what

lifestyle practices do elite athletes attribute their success?

1.3. Being an Elite Athlete

Sporting expertise is the result of highly experienced individuals dedicating many

years to extended deliberate practice,11 often from a young age. The commitment,

drive, and determination to reach high levels of achievement is significant. To

succeed as an athlete requires an enormous amount of hard-work, perseverance

and teamwork. Not only physically but also mentally. Training at high levels has

various challenges depending on the sport or how well funded the athletes are.

Nonetheless, being a high-performance athlete often requires sacrifices and

pressures such as:


7

• moving interstate

• costs of getting to training

• international travel

• pressure of making a team

• performing domestically and internationally

• focus

• restructuring other areas of the athlete’s life to accommodate training

• balancing relationships with friends, peers, and family

• expenses for services such as massage, physiotherapy, strength and

conditioning

• meticulous planning of diet and supplement intake

• having time out and balancing, study and work commitments

The unique range of stressors that an athlete experiences, can potentially increase

their vulnerability to mental health problems. These factors include the psychological

impacts of overtraining, injury and burnout, intense public and media scrutiny, social-

media pressures, and managing ongoing competitive pressures to perform.12

It is important to note that it is not always the goal to remove exposure to stress but

to facilitate psychological resilience to deal with various life stressors. Fletcher and

Sarkar found that ‘exposure to stressors was an essential feature of the stress-

resilience-performance relationship in Olympic champions.’13 Most Olympic

champions they interviewed concluded that without the experience of certain types of

stressors (including highly demanding adversities), they would not have won their

gold medals.13 The pursuit of success in the sporting arena itself, involves the athlete

actively engaging and seeking challenging and stressful situations.13

A phenomenon of competing despite mental health problems has been widely

reported in elite sport.14 ‘Playing hurt’ is also widespread and is often associated with

the use of painkillers, disregarding medical guidelines and hiding pain from coaches,

teammates and medical staff.14 The effect of these decisions can have

consequences for an athlete’s long-term health and career success. Trivialising pain,

ignoring injuries and having insufficient rehabilitation can lead to irreversible physical


8

damage, chronic overuse or recurring traumatic injuries.15 16 Injuries can also take

their toll on mental health. In their assessment, Appaneal et al. showed depression

ratings for athletes with injuries exceeded those of healthy athletes after 1 week,

remaining elevated above healthy controls up to 1 month post injury.17 This is

consistent with previous research on depression and other forms of emotional

distress.17

1.4. Classification

In order to maintain consistency in terminology, the athlete classification in this thesis

will follow the FTEM (Foundation, Talent, Elite, Mastery) Framework.18 This

framework is inclusive of the athlete continuum, from the recreational level through to

the elite and mastery level. See Figure 1.1.

Athlete classification can be confusing and inconsistent,19 therefore it was important

to select a classification which spanned the trajectories of athlete performance yet

also provided sufficient depth of experience of the athlete along with its applicability

to a variety of sports. This is particularly evident in the FTEM application of snow

sports for Snow Australia.20


9

Figure 1.1. The FTEM Framework18

1.5. Complexities in Supporting the Developing Athlete

Unfortunately, short-sighted and questionable coaching and club practices exist,

which do not recognise the holistic nature of athlete development, the impact of

biological maturation on adolescent sporting development and performance along

with the importance of injury prevention.21

The athlete development pathway is summarised by Gulbin et al.22 in their ‘The

Athlete Development Triangle’ (ADT), which clearly delineates progressive levels of

an athlete’s competition levels along with the inter-relationships between junior and

senior representative experiences. Highlighting the variance of developmental

trajectories based on competition levels. See Figure 1.2.


10

Figure 1.2. The Athlete Development Triangle (ADT)

There is a significant gap in the system affecting athletes’ wellbeing and lifestyle

practices and a disconnect in providing solutions and valuable and applicable

education to emerging athletes as they move along their development pathway.22

Often, practical recommendations and communications comes either too late or at a

time when other habits have been developed and emotional and mental resilience is

not sufficiently honed to cope with the stressors of the elite sporting world.

The very nature of the lifestyle of an elite athlete brings with it many stressors and

pressure, such as frequent high level competitions, team selections, losses, injuries,

financial considerations. Fletcher et al.23 provide a comprehensive analysis of

stressors which are inherent to sport and associated with the activities of this

lifestyle. These were categorised as follows:

• Factors intrinsic to the sport such as training, competition, nutrition, risk of

injury.


11

• Roles in the sport organisation behaviours and demands associated with the

sport such as demand on time, roles and responsibilities and role ambiguity.

• Sport relationships and interpersonal demands such as a personality type,

leadership type, and lack of social support.

• Athletic career and performance development issues such as career or

position security, income and funding, and career and performance

advancement.

• Organisational structure and climate of the sport including factors resulting

from the operation of the sport such as coaching and/or management style

and the cultural and political environment.

In view of the highly complex social and organisational environment in competitive

sport, psychological resilience is required to deal with stressors and pressures of an

athlete’s lifestyle. Fletcher and Sarkar24 suggest resilience training (mental fortitude)

should be both proactive (robust) and reactive (rebound) and administered before,

during, and after stressful or adverse encounters. In contrast to a resilient individual,

a vulnerable person tends to succumb to pressure adverse consequences for their

wellbeing and/or performance. As a result, they then have to attempt to cope with

and recover from their negative experiences.24

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement on youth athletic

development leads with a clear goal to:

Develop healthy, capable and resilient young athletes, while attaining widespread, inclusive, sustainable and enjoyable participation and success for all levels of individual athletic achievement.25

Although this aim is clear, it is not simple, and is a considerable challenge for

sporting stakeholders such as coaches, parents, administrators, governing bodies

and young athletes. It is imperative a focus on emerging athletes, provides them with

the sporting and life skills to equip them adequately for the journey ahead. The IOC

consensus is a promising place to start. It provides clear recommendations including

perceiving success as healthy, meaningful and varied life-forming experiences for

the whole person (and not just the athlete), implementing evidence-based inclusive


12

athlete development frameworks that allow for flexibility in addressing individual

athlete needs, promoting psychological resilience, high self-regulation and enduring

personal excellence qualities; encouraging early diversification and unstructured play

and assisting in the management of sport-life balance.25 Coaching recommendations

that include practices that are evidence-based and provide an enjoyable and

challenging environment can include education programs that assist in building

meaningful relationships, training more efficient training that avoids injuries and

providing up to date and applicable nutrition and hydration education. Sport and

sports medicine governing bodies and organisations should also be encouraged to

protect the health and wellbeing of youth in sport by providing ongoing education.25

1.6. Alignment of Olympic and Wellbeing Values

Although some of the commercial and political aspects of the Olympic movement

have been questionable, when we consider the athlete’s main goal; the pursuit of

excellence, the striving to be the best they can be, it may be helpful to look back to

the tenants of this ancient construct:

Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will, and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.26

At the very heart of the Olympic ideals is to become one’s best self in mind, body

and spirit, and to embrace the international community in which we live as a global

society. However, it is often within the striving for success, performance outcomes,

funding, power and prestige that these ideals are lost.

In order create a healthy, robust and integrated platform to excel and strive to be

better within ourselves, we need to take a holistic approach. To integrate the

collective support network as a team, focused on the individual human being, rather

than the athlete machine. Only then can we move forward, together, within the

international, cultural and educational platform on which the Olympic movement is

founded.


13

Without wanting to sound trite, or overly idealistic, particularly given the corruption

and political overlay that is synonymous with the Olympic Games;27 when one

examines the Olympic construct in its purest form, there is a clear synergy with the

ideals of wellness and wellbeing theory. The individualistic pursuit of achieving

human potential along with the broader context of community and relationships, both

in the microcosm of our own lives and also within the macrocosm of the global

environment. It is this endeavour, within the challenges and opportunities of life, the

imperfections of living, the reality of relationships that not everyone shares the same

opinions or values, but yet in-spite of these struggles, humans seek to connect and

form quality relationships, and seek to bring out the best in themselves and their

world.

1.7. Wellbeing, Lifestyle and its Importance for the Athlete

The definition of wellbeing is multidimensional with many definitions reported in the

literature.28 At a more basic level, wellbeing has been described as to ‘function at

one’s optimal capacity.’29 Cowen30 defined wellness as a collection of positive

functioning attributes, such as strong attachment relationships, coping skills and self-

regulation, exposure to empowering environments, acquisition of age-appropriate

cognitive skills and interpersonal social interactions, rather than the absence of

psychopathology.30

Two perspectives; eudaimonism and hedonism have been used to understand

human needs and desires. Although theoretical constructs differ, there are some

shared overlapping and complementing features. The eudaimonic approach focuses

on psychological wellbeing such as the degree to which a person is functioning, and

places more meaning on self-realisation. The hedonic approach defines wellbeing

more subjectively, that is in terms of pleasure-seeking and pain avoidance, with a

greater focus on happiness and life satisfaction.29 Ryan believes that a more

constructive approach to understanding wellness includes a combination of the

individual’s wellbeing along with the collective wellness of humanity and the planet to

achieve both eudaimonic and hedonic outcomes that are globally sustainable.29


14

In a sporting context, we have a duty of care to support the wellbeing and human-

flourishing of each individual athlete, along with the larger sporting community as it

exists within society.31 In this regard, there appears to be a gap in the literature

concerning athlete wellbeing with respect to lifestyle practices. The primary aim of

this thesis is to identify what are the lifestyle practices that elite athletes engage in,

and how do these practices support or inhibit their endeavours in the pursuit of

sporting excellence?

Some positive lifestyle practices such as yoga and saunas are deliberately

incorporated into the lifestyles of athletes as behaviours that they choose and are

within their control. Whereas other factors such as personal or financial stress may

lie outside of their control. Whether or not these factors are within the athlete’s

control, it is interesting to gain insight into how they may impact their elite athletic

performance. Identification of potentially modifiable factors that may either inhibit or

enhance success, may inform the development of lifestyle and training regimens by

elite athletes, coaching staff and the general public. Indeed, such information may

enable effective refinements to athlete development programs.

Devaney discusses the importance of lifestyle support in relation to lifestyle

practitioners supporting Elite Youth Cricketers.32 This highlights the ‘paradox

between the perception that lifestyle concerns are removed from the performance

agenda and the realisation that lifestyle issues and lifestyle support are often

explicitly linked to performance.’32 There is also often a perception and even

expectation that to be a successful elite athlete, the level of focus and commitment

required, means an ‘unbalanced’ lifestyle is required.

1.8. Looking Back to Move Forward

Historically, athletes have adopted an ad-hoc approach to achieving a ‘balanced’ life

and incorporating supporting measures in their lives to help achieve a state of

personal wellbeing whilst optimising their sporting performance. This is evident in the

current understanding of athlete mental health,12 in particular the transition from

‘being an athlete’ to retirement and a career outside of the athlete-identity.12 Within

the sporting environment, athletes are often subjected to discrimination, accidental


15

and non-accidental physical, sexual and psychological violence, with the likelihood of

this occurring increasing as they move along the high performance pathway.33 A key

predictor of discrimination, accidental and non-accidental violence is an imbalance in

power relationships, which is a structural feature of sport.34 The power of authority

figures to use manipulative, coercive and intimidating tactics in the selection or

(de)selection of athletes means that athletes often have little bargaining power in

negotiating terms that govern their relationship with National Sporting Organisations

(NSO’s), which can significantly impact athlete wellbeing. Furthermore, the ‘culture of

silence’ prevents athletes from speaking out about grievances in fear of the

ramifications.34 The consequences of discrimination, accidental and non-accidental

violence for the athlete are serious and long-term. In accordance with the Olympic

Charter, the International Sporting Federations and the IOC are obliged to support

and encourage the protection of athlete health and encourage the development and

support for all citizens participating in sport.33 It is therefore critical that athlete

development pathways embrace athlete wellbeing and promotion of healthy lifestyles

to foster athlete mental health and wellbeing.

1.9. Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement

The Australian Sports Commission is committed to athlete wellbeing and mental

health and is one of the key strategic priorities of the National Sport Plan.35 The

recent explosion in our understanding and knowledge of athlete wellbeing has led to

an Australian federal initiative to build a national approach, and the rolling out of

‘Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement Programs’36 through the Australian Institute of

Sport (AIS). The aim of these programs is to create high performance environments

that foster meaningful conversations about training and athlete wellbeing between

coaches and athletes.

Within the program is a team of Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement (AWE)

managers across Australian sports. These AWE managers provide support in areas

of mental health, career and education, community engagement, conduct,

professionalism and personal development.36 This initiative is coupled with the

launch of the Mental Health Referral Network.35 This is a hotline providing

assessment and services to support AIS-funded athletes by way of professional


16

guidance and counselling from high-quality mental health practitioners via a national

network of endorsed psychiatrists and neuropsychologists.35 This hotline can be

directly accessed by Australian elite athletes and, friends, family, sporting

organisations, and general practitioners. Allied health professionals can also refer

athletes to the service.37 This program recognises that ‘wellbeing and performance

go hand-in-hand’ and by increasing athlete wellbeing, athletes and sports are better

able to achieve more sustained performance and success at the highest level.37

Most elite athletes have an intense, myopic focus simply by the very nature of their

pursuit of excellence. The challenge for many athletes is to balance this intense

training and a competitive environment with the demands of daily life.38 Building

resilience along with developing and broadening life skills,13 may assist in greater

levels of self-awareness to help expand athletes’ limited focus to better equip them

to succeed in both their personal and sporting life.38 The fundamental aspects that

make up the ‘balanced’ self may include sport, family, friends, professional

development, personal development and social connections.38 In turn, creating a

professional environment which strengthens overall life skills is essential for

developing resilience.38 This is critically important as sporting bodies have a duty of

care for these athletes to be safe and experience wellbeing both during their sporting

life and beyond.

These initiatives represent a promising development and more progressive steps

compared with the historical stigma and silence associated with mental health.12

However, many of these initiatives are provided at a Federal level, through NSO’s or

local sporting clubs, are often administered too late. Rather than being reactive,

athlete wellbeing and mental health programs should ideally adopt a proactive

approach beginning at the grass-roots level.39 This requires an inclusive approach -

educating athletes, club coaches and parents.12 39 40 Roberts et al. call for a change

in attitude towards sport as a whole.34 To address the embedded structural and

cultural factors present today, an attitude aimed to preserve the ‘integrity of individual

athletes while collectively striving for success’ is required.34 This also requires a

change pertinent to society as a whole, including governments, the public, sports

organisations, sponsors and current and future athletes and their families.34


17

1.10. Aim of Research, Research Objectives, and Research

Questions

At the elite level, athletes are highly scrutinised and monitored. They are often

determined to strive for the Olympic ideals; ‘faster, higher, stronger’, to achieve their

best in their chosen sport. Whilst a holistic approach to athlete profiling and

commensurate strategies and support, are strongly advocated in the contemporary

literature, including the IOC’s consensus statement on Youth Athlete Development,25

key lifestyle and performance practices are commonly overlooked. Accordingly, the

purpose of this research is to identify the key lifestyle practices and other

contributing factors such as training, preparation and mindset that athletes perceive

to contribute to podium performances in elite competition.

Although there has been research on athletic performance and psychological

profiling, there is little in the way of qualitative information detailing general lifestyle

habits outside of specific training regimens. The closest research to date is The

German Young Olympic Athletes' Lifestyle and Health Management Study (GOAL

Study) which encompasses health and lifestyle.41 However, much of the results of

this study are not publicly available. In order to better understand the role of

resilience in athletes lives, Fletcher and Sarkar interviewed Olympic champions to

look at the relationship of psychological resilience and optimal sport performance,

and found a culmination of factors 'protect the world's best athletes from the potential

negative effects of stressors'.13 These factors include: a positive personality,

motivation, confidence, focus, and perceived social support.13 This knowledge,

along with the GOAL Study41 provides understanding in specific areas of awareness.

Understanding mastery level performance and the aligned athlete profile is critical to

informing the athletes following their trajectory, and the required alignment. This

thesis aims to engage the athlete’s voice. To capture the mastery level athlete’s

wisdom and identify their perceptions of what has contributed to their success, along

with their longevity and therefore, how these aspects can inform and underpin

strategy and provision. The overarching aim of this research is to determine what

lifestyle factors athletes perceive to support their performance and what lifestyle


18

practices inhibit athletic performance. Similarities along with unique individualised

practices are also explored across different sports.

When identifying lifestyle factors, the following categories are considered and

expanded on in the following chapter: Psychological, Diet, Activities, Support

Network, Therapies and Vocation / Education.

1.11. Research Aims

1. Identify the lifestyle practices and mindsets that champion athletes attribute

to their success.

2. Explore if these practices are used down the athlete development pathway

with pre-elite and elite level athletes.

3. Provide practical recommendations for athletes and support staff such as

partners, mentors, teachers, educators, and collaborators on improving

athletic performance.

4. Provide theoretical recommendations.

1.12. Thesis Summary

To achieve this aim, two studies were conducted. Firstly, we asked ten of the world’s

best athletes – world, Olympic and Paralympic champions – about their lifestyle and

mindset practices. Qualitative research by way of interviews were chosen for the first

study. Specific research objectives were outlined, with corresponding questions

developed, and appropriate methodologies utilised with no preconceived ideas, to

allow for continual redirection.

The results from these interviews, were used to inform a larger study of 135 pre-elite

and elite athletes. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of whether the

lifestyle skills and psychological attributes identified in the first study are used across


19

a larger sample of athletes, across a broader distribution of sports and further down

the athlete pathway in pre-elite athletes.

1.13. Flow of Research

Figure 1.3. Flow of Research

This thesis is presented as a series of published and unpublished papers, and each

of these chapters is presented in manuscript format. The entire thesis can be read in

order, however, each publication can also stand-alone. The exception to this is the

current chapter, which introduces key topics and outlines the background of the

research, and Chapter 8, which summarises the work in its entirety and discusses


20

key findings, limitations and practical recommendations for future directions and

education. The following Table 1.1 provides an overview of the research objectives,

questions, relevant chapters and aims of the studies conducted.


21

Table 1.1. Research Objectives, Questions, Chapter and Aim(s) of the Study

Objective Research Questions Chapter Aim(s) of Study

Objective 1: Qualitatively explore lifestyle and mindset practices of elite athletic performers.

• Are there any lifestyle practices that elite athletes attribute their success?

• Are there any lifestyle practices that elite athletes consider inhibit their performance?

• Are there specific lifestyle practices common across elite athletes?

• What is the level of awareness and implementation of these practices by emerging athletes?

Ch 5 Paper Ch 6 Paper, Editorial

This project aimed to gain insight into the lifestyle practices and mindset of elite athletes. The purpose of this project was to identify the key lifestyle practices and other factors such as training and preparation that contribute to podium performances in elite competition. We aimed to assess the similarities within this group of elite performers along with unique individualised practices. The findings of this research will be used to assist other athletes, coaches and sporting organisations identify key elements to include in their training regimens.

Objective 2: Exploring if these skills are used down the pathway and with current and past athletes – survey with a larger cohort of athletes.

• As above, plus: • Is there a difference between:

- pre-elite athletes from mastery level athletes

- able-bodied athletes and athletes with a disability

- athletes in different categorisation of sports CGS / non CGS

Ch 7 Survey Paper

The aim of this investigation was to gain information and insight specific to the utilisation of lifestyle practices and attributes of Olympic, Paralympic & High Performance Australian athletes, from state level to podium level. Our aim was to further understand the role and impact of these key factors, which are critical to informing current athlete and system level support. This was achieved by surveying a broader sample (more sports, broader age range, and achievement levels from state to international champions). The findings of this study inform an integrated approach which encompasses these four dimensions, and can potentially be used to inform the development of a valid and reliable screening tool that assesses a developing athlete’s competency in each of these domains, and is a pre-cursor to tailored education and intervention that


22

Objective Research Questions Chapter Aim(s) of Study can maximise an athlete’s longevity and performance success. In order to provide recommendations on future education and implementation strategies, we aimed to gain a deeper, empirical understanding of the utilisation and impact of key lifestyle and athlete practices from across the athlete pathway. The conceptual representation of the athlete development pathway as depicted by the FTEM (Foundation, Talent, Elite, Mastery) framework18 was used to guide the athlete classification. The online Athlete Questionnaire hosted by Qualtrics (Qualtrics Labs. Inc) was utilised to capture information specific to: 1. The quantity and quality of lifestyle practices (e.g., recovery, sleep practices, support and interpersonal relationships, extra-curricular activities, relaxation and psychological factors such as self-regulation) and commensurate awareness and knowledge, across the athlete pathway. 2. Compare any differences between able-bodied athletes and athletes with disabilities; male and female athletes, professional and Olympic/Paralympic athletes, state, pre-elite and elite athletes, individual and team based athletes.

Objective 3: Provide recommendations and future directions

Ch 8 To outline practical recommendations for strategy and practice.


23

Chapter 2: The Role of Lifestyle in Facilitating Elite Sport Performance

A multi-factorial athlete profile is key to elite sport performance.42 43 This chapter

outlines various lifestyle factors utilised by athletes, and their application to sports

performance.

2.1. Lifestyle

As discussed in Chapter 1, in its simplest form, lifestyle is quite simply the way a

person lives. A wellness lifestyle is inclusive of a person’s emotional, physical, social,

spiritual and intellectual lives, along with environment, finances and cultural values,

which all impact one’s overall balance.

While there is widespread understanding that lifestyle habits are important for health

and wellbeing and unhealthy lifestyles can have dire consequences including

lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease,9 this research

focuses on the specific effect of lifestyle practices on athletic performance. Lifestyle

practices such as yoga, meditation, mindfulness and recovery practices may be

incorporated into an athlete’s weekly schedule and may either be provided by the

NSO or undertaken at the athlete’s own initiative. These practices are often

incorporated into an athlete’s regular routine, but more understanding is required as

to how they sit in the performance context, and how they are evaluated within the

program as a whole.

Based on reading and analysis of the relevant literature, lifestyle practices have been

categorised into the following seven groups. The synthesis of these groups has been

refined following the thematic analysis which emerged from the interviews. Some

aspects could be considered in more than one category. For example, some

recovery practices could be categorised in Physical Factors, however we have found

this distribution allows for the best representation and relevance of these elements.

An explanation of how each one impacts sporting performance, is expanded in this

chapter, other than Physical Factors as it is ubiquitous in relevance here.


24

Figure 2.1. Lifestyle Categories

2.1.1. Psychological

2.1.1.1. Mindfulness

Mindfulness and acceptance of internal processes (thoughts, emotions, feelings) has

been gaining momentum in elite sport. This approach has been seen to be

advantageous and many athletes and coaching staff have begun incorporating

mindfulness into training regimes to reduce stress and anxiety, increase focus and

improve sporting performance.44 45

There has been a shift in the sports psychology approach, from a more traditional

cognitive behavioural skills training (controlling negative thoughts either by

eliminating, suppressing or replacing them), to looking at a more mindful or

acceptance based approach.46 Gardener et al. suggest these more traditional

practices may in fact have a more deleterious effect for athletes.46 This is supported

by growing evidence that suppressing emotions leads to a range of negative physical

and mental health consequences.47

Mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches, particularly Mindfulness-

Acceptance-Commitment (MAC), are based on the premise that internal emotional

and cognitive states are not eliminated or controlled in order to facilitate positive

behavioural outcomes.47 Instead, it is suggested enhancement of athletic

performance may be achieved via techniques and strategies which develop the

mindful (nonjudgmental) present-moment acceptance of internal experiences

(thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations). These are supported by clarification of

valued goals and enhanced attention to external cues, responses, and contingencies

which are required for optimal performance.46

Psychological

• mindfulness• meditation• visualisation/

mental imagery

• resilience

Diet

• food• beverages• supplements

Activities

• yoga• Pilates• recreation/

time-out

Support Network

• coach• friends / family• support staff

Therapies

• massage• physiotherapy• recovery (spa,

sauna, ice-bathing/ cryotherapy, flotation)

Vocation / Education

• career, work, education

Physical Factors

• sport specific training / practice

• physiology / genetics


25

The application of mindfulness practice in sport has been found to be a protective

factor in buffering against stress and burnout.48 It has also shown benefit in

supporting mental health, facilitating general wellbeing, remediating subclinical and

clinical psychological concerns,47 along with enhancing sporting performance.44-46

2.1.1.2. Meditation

Meditation is known to have positive effects on physical and mental health, and

adaptation to life stressors.49 Meditation practice may increase self-reported

mindfulness, which has been linked to reductions in cognitive perseverations.50

Meditation practice can assist with sleep.51 Aiding and improving both the quality and

length of sleep, along with enhancing immune function and the ability to recover from

cold and flu illness.52 53 The use of relaxation skills such as meditation can assist

athletes in coping with competitive (and everyday) anxiety, promote recovery and

enhance self-regulation.54

2.1.1.3. Visualisation / Mental Imagery

The use of visualisation and mental imagery has long been practiced by athletes.

The practice is where an athlete imagines in their mind the training session,

competition-move or activity without making any physical movements.55 Visualisation

or mental imagery practice often involves all of the senses, including sight, hearing,

smell, taste, touch and movement. It is a form of simulation. As the athlete imagines

themselves performing a skill or competing, they are creating muscle memory within

the nervous and muscular systems of how to do the skill.55

Visualisation and mental imagery can be practiced from two perspectives: from an

internal or external perspective. Internal perspective is when the athlete sees the

image from behind their own eyes - as if they were actually performing. External

perspective is where they see the image from outside their body as if watching a

video of themselves performing the activity.55 Athletes use imagery to improve

performance such as improving technique, assist practice when they are too tired or


26

if they are injured, to increase competition confidence or to increase/decrease

activation levels.55

2.1.1.4. Resilience

Resilience can be defined as the ‘dynamic process encompassing positive

adaptation within the context of significant adversity’56 and ‘the positive role of

individual differences in people’s response to stress and adversity.’57 Psychological

resilience, as defined by Fletcher and Sarkar,24 is ‘the ability to use personal qualities

to withstand pressure,’ and plays a role in optimal sports performance. There are

multiple psychological factors, which protect the world’s best athletes from the

negative effects of stressors which supports performance success and increases

resilience. Some of which include; self-confidence, perceived social support, positive

expectations about the future (optimistic, hopeful); enjoyment from doing activities

and tasks (intrinsically motivated); has an awareness of oneself, others, and the

environment (self-awareness, social awareness); direct thoughts and mental images

(self-talk, imagery, mental rehearsal, visualisation); ability to regulate arousal levels

(relaxation, activation, arousal control), sets effective goals and motivation.13 24

Conversely, individuals who are less psychologically resilient and more vulnerable,

tend to succumb to pressure. This can affect their wellbeing and sporting

performance significantly, resulting in them having to recover and cope with their

negative experience.24 Teaching and fostering psychological skills and attributes to

enhance resilience is a key attribute for high performance, along with supporting

overall mental health and wellbeing.

2.1.2. Diet

Quality diets are important for human health, and are associated with better mental

health outcomes, particularly depression58 59 and cognitive function.60 Sports nutrition

is no exception and is a dynamic area of science and practice which is constantly

evolving.61 Sports nutrition is used to enhance performance and recovery. As with

training, an individual athlete’s nutrition goals are periodised to enhance adaptations


27

of training. Their personalised nutritional plan needs to adjust according to their

training load, periodisation, competition schedule and overall nutritional goals.61

To maximise an eating regimen for an athlete to achieve optimal energy

requirements, balance and availability, appropriate body composition, macro and

micronutrient requirements specific to their sport and competition schedule,

consultation with a qualified practitioner is recommended.61

A tailored plan can assist with strategies to optimise performance and recovery for

competition and during training. This includes pre-, during and post event eating,

proper hydration and electrolyte balance, along with any appropriate

supplementation.61-63

2.1.3. Activities

There are many activities that athletes engage in as part of their weekly schedule.

These are either set as part of a routine dictated by their sport, or they participate in

via their own volition. They can be recreational, performance enhancing or as part of

a recovery program. This is by no means an exhaustive list but highlights some

common activities athletes participate in alongside their sport:

2.1.3.1. Yoga

Yoga has a myriad of general health effects including positive effects on heart rate

variability, mood and mental stress.64 It can improve anxiety and/or depressive

disorders and may reduce cardiovascular risk.65 Yoga practice has been shown to

provide athletes with the ability to achieve higher work rates with reduced oxygen

consumption, without an increase in blood lactate levels - with blood lactate levels

remaining significantly low at rest.66 Yoga practice has also been used to enhance

sporting performance by improving flexibility and balance,67 and assist with

competitive anxiety.68


28

2.1.3.2. Pilates

Joseph Hubertus Pilates founded the Pilates method in the early 1920’s. It was

originally called ‘Contrology’, or the art of control, as it was based on the principle of

attaining a complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit.69 Athletes often use

Pilates to improve flexibility,70 attain greater skill refinement,71 improve general

training,72 and for injury rehabilitation and recovery.72 73

2.1.3.3. Recreation / Time Out

Assisting an athlete to rest, or make time for recreational activities, or even

strategically inserting longer periods of rest which follow intense periods of stress is

important. This can assist in effective recovery from intense training loads, aid in

preventing overtraining, fatigue, injury, illness, and burnout.74 A balanced approach

to life, which is inclusive of training, along with an athlete’s other interests is

advantageous. Long hours spent in a single activity, can lead to exhaustion and

inefficiency, ultimately stifling performance.38

2.1.4. Support Network

2.1.4.1. Interpersonal Relationships / Social Connection

Interpersonal relationships are vital to human health and individuals with strong

social ties have increased resistance to somatic diseases.75 76 77 Social support can

attenuate downstream physiological stress responses which are relevant to health.

Having at least one quality relationship in a person’s life, significantly reduces the

likelihood of a negative mental health outcome following a major life stressor.78 Lack

of social relationships is now established as a contributing major risk factor for

health, similar to obesity, smoking and high blood pressure.79 80

Athletes do not flourish in isolation, they are a part of a complex web of interpersonal

connections where subtle and indirect influences can impact their overall wellbeing

and athletic performance.81 Bloom82 proposes there are few predictors of a child's

future success but concludes great achievement can be ‘grown’ by parents,

coaches, schools, and constructive mentors and role models. Social environments

can assist in shaping young talented athletes across the early, middle and late


29

stages of their sporting careers.83 Having supportive parents, a stimulating and

permissive coach, and the dedication and commitment to spend hours and hours

practising and relearning skills are the real determinants of excellence.83 Links

between perceived social support and performance have been well documented,85-87

and can have stress-buffering effects which is an important component of resilience

in high-performance sport.13 87 88 An athlete’s support from team-mates is positively

associated with increased self-confidence.85

2.1.4.2. Coach

The coach-athlete relationship is complex and may influence athletes’ motivation. A

coaches’ actions in the form of autonomy-supportive behaviours, provision of

structure and involvement have beneficial impacts on athlete’s needs for autonomy,

competence and relatedness. This in turn, nurtures an athletes’ intrinsic motivation

and self-determined types of extrinsic motivation, which bears a positive influence on

athletes’ intrinsic and self-determined extrinsic motivation.89 Both of which are

required for an athlete’s optimal functioning.89 90 Hampson and Jowett indicate the

quality of coach–athlete relationships add to the prediction of an individuals’

collective efficacy.84 Shared confidence for both coaches and athletes’ is important

for individual performance and team success.84 Coaches need to know when to push

athletes, and when to reduce the intensity of training and also their expectations.83

2.1.5. Therapies

2.1.5.1. Massage

Massage has long been used as a therapeutic modality to treat a variety of injuries

and illnesses.91 Sports massage is used to aid recovery from exercise and

competition and in the treatment and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries.92

However, whilst sports massage is a tool widely used to support and prepare an

athlete for training and competition, it’s efficacy is not as widespread as often

touted.93 94 Massage has been used as a treatment to increase blood flow and assist

with Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) by facilitating blood lactate clearance,

yet this is not supported in the scientific literature.94 Hemmings et al., conclude


30

perceived psychological benefit may be a factor rather than physiological restoration

for repeated sports performance.94

In a review of the role of massage in sports performance and rehabilitation, Brummit

concludes evidence of massage significantly contributing to the reduction in DOMS,

or enhancing sports performance and rehabilitation failed to demonstrate these

effects.93 Further research is warranted both for physiological and psychological

application.93

2.1.5.2. Physiotherapy

Sports and exercise physiotherapy is utilised by athletes for prevention and

management of injuries. Physiotherapists are utilised throughout the training

schedule as well as during competitions and peak events.95 Along with their

professional competency, the role of the physiotherapist is knowing when to

refer, and also to understand the emotional and psychological demands of the

athlete, their sport and be able to communicate well with the coaching staff and

support team.96

2.1.6. Recovery

Recovery practices are an important element in an athlete’s training schedule. Below

are some examples of practices commonly utilised by athletes:

2.1.6.1. Water Immersion and Hot and/or Cold Therapy

The use of water immersion and hot and/or cold techniques by athletes has been

used in various ways including cold water (plunge), contrast hot/cold (sauna/spa

then cold plunge or hot/cold showers), ice bathing and cryotherapy.97

Cold water immersion (plunge) is often used after training sessions, when training in

the heat, or during the acute phases of muscle injury, soreness or bruising. Duration

in the cold water is up to 10 minutes or 3 minutes in / 2 minutes out (repeated three

times).97


31

Contrasting water therapy (e.g., spa/plunge) is mostly used following training or

instead of cold water immersion between training sessions.97

The spa is often used as a relaxation technique and/or to aid muscle stiffness.97

2.1.6.2. Sauna

The use of saunas for health and wellbeing have been used since ancient times. The

health benefits of sauna bathing are compelling and include cardiovascular and

mental health,98-100 along with athletic endurance.101

Regular sauna use acclimatises the body to heat which in turn optimises the body’s

response to future exposures (hormesis), triggering protective mechanisms which

repair cell damage along with providing protection from other more harmful

stressors.102 Long-term sauna use has been seen to improve blood-pressure,

endothelial function and inflammation.103 Heat stress from sauna bathing may

increase athletic endurance and assist in maintaining or promoting gains in muscle

mass and enhance cognitive function.99-101

2.1.6.3. Ice Bathing and Cryotherapy

Ice bathing and Cryotherapy are also hormetic stressors and involve exposing the

body (or specific areas of the body) to extremely cold temperatures for a set period

of time. Cold exposure increases norepinephrine which influences mood, focus and

attention. Cold exposure increases cold shock proteins which can stimulate repair of

damaged synapses and prevent muscle atrophy.104 It can lower inflammation by

decreasing inflammatory mediators so is often used to relieve pain, injuries and

overuse symptoms.104

2.1.6.4. Flotation

Float tanks are often used by athletes as a stress management tool; to reduce

cortisol levels, lower blood pressure, enhance cognition, improve sleep and increase

general wellbeing and performance.105


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2.1.7. Vocation / Education

Committed athletes are often fulltime but are far from fully funded, juggling work and/

or study alongside training and competition schedules. An athlete’s lifestyle is

inclusive of their commitments in work or study. A life-span perspective which

incorporates this inclusivity along with forethought specific to transition out of sport is

holistic and supportive for the athlete at an individual, psychosocial, and

academic/vocational level.106

Supporting an athlete with dedicated career planning, lifestyle management and

identity development whilst they are still engaged in their sport, supports this holistic

perspective.107 Early intervention programmes endeavour to broaden the life skills of

the athlete and can assist in protecting them from potential anxiety and uncertainty

about their futures, resulting in a smoother, less traumatic transition within and after

elite sport.38

Retirement from sport is a process, rather than a single step.38 Career transitions

can be difficult when an athlete measures their identity, self-worth and self-

perception entirely around their sport.38 106 108 The development of a lifespan

perspective to hone an athlete’s life skills can increase self-awareness and allow the

athlete to create a stronger base to support the pillars that make up the self (sport,

social connections, family, friends, professional development and personal

development). A professional, considered environment which builds and develops

the overall life skills of the athlete is essential for developing resilience.38

2.2. Summary

In summary, greater understanding and recognition of lifestyle factors for athletes is

required to support athlete wellbeing along with elite sporting performance.

In the next chapter, a selection of athlete development models, frameworks and

constructs are reviewed in the context of the extent to which they consider ‘lifestyle

factors’.


33

The following chapter explores the current constructs, frameworks and models

utilised in relation to athletes and performance, and the extent in which they

incorporate lifestyle.


34

Chapter 3: Athlete Development - A Narrative Review

The lifestyle factors outlined in the previous chapter are often considered in the

athletic domain, however they are not always considered within the whole athletic

lifestyle.

Athlete development pathways and aligned concepts, constructs, frameworks and

models have long been used to give structure to the continuum from early childhood

development of physical activity to high-level elite competition and beyond. The race

for coveted medals and sporting excellence at an international level propels research

in this domain, and the elusive ability to predict and develop a child into an

international superstar continues to drive change and development.

This chapter reviews lifestyle factors featured within the current influential models,

frameworks and constructs of athlete development. In order to cover a wider range

of these influential structures, and allow for more comprehensive coverage, a

narrative review was chosen to illustrate the inclusion and application of lifestyle

factors within these constructs.109

Over time, analysis and understanding of the complexities of identifying and shaping a human has evolved. The layers of depth in continuing to understand nuances in this field is both varied and heartening. Many influential models have been updated

and iterated,43 110 to provide a deeper and more comprehensive practical application for both physical literacy and elite performance.

There is some overlap between Talent Development (TD) and Talent Identification

(TI). Talent Identification relates to events and processes where an athlete has their

potential identified, whereas Talent Development covers a broad period of athlete

development. The emphasis in this review is on TD, however there is mention of TI

as a result of the overlapping nature of these principles within the models and

frameworks discussed. Many TD models are comprehensive at a community or

grass-roots level, providing principles relevant to the general community and


35

fostering lifelong physical movement and lifestyle. In these instances, they offer a far

more holistic perspective which supports the athlete for life outside sport.

More recently, athlete wellbeing has become a catalyst for understanding and

incorporating a more holistic perspective. Although there are many benefits of

physical activity, participation in sport can have potentially damaging effects on a

child’s wellbeing.39 Rice et al., established that elite athletes ‘experience a broadly

comparable risk of high-prevalence mental disorders such as depression and

anxiety, relative to the general population.’12 The IOC has provided safeguards to

ensure the child athlete can engage in enjoyable athletic pursuits and reach their

sporting potential and flourish.39

Table 3.1 highlights the lifestyle factors covered in each construct, framework and

model, along with an overview of their overarching concept, methodology and

limitations.


36

Table 3.1. Overview and Lifestyle Applications in Influential Athlete Development Models, Constructs & Frameworks

Model / Construct Overview

Discipline Origins & Methodology

Performance Level

Athlete & /or Environmental Factors of Support

Lifestyle Factors

General Lifestyle / Wellbeing Support Network Activities /

Recreation Diet / Nutrition Psychological attributes

Therapies Practitioner Support / Recovery

Education / Vocation

Developing Talent in Young People. Bloom, 198582

Achievement is not the result of genetic endowment but rather training, coaching, & perseverance. Personal capabilities are not predetermined but can be developed & shaped by the individual’s environment. Learning, attitudes & relationships determine transition between stages, rather than chronological ages. 3 Stages of Talent Development: Initiation, Development & Perfection. Expanded with: Early Years: exposure, playfulness, often with immediate rewards. Free of immediate judgment/ critique. Middle & Late Years: investment of time, emotion, & money. Often involves parents finding new and challenging instruction for their child’s continued growth. Child taking more responsibility for their learning environment & allowing the them to master their domain & work toward additional goals.

Educational Psychology. Retrospective qualitative data (interviews) with world-class performers from three specific vocations: music, arts, sport.

Recreational, pre-elite & elite.

Athlete & Environmental Factors (support). The Environment: Some pre-determined instincts & coded behaviour. But ultimately humans have huge potential to develop ‘as needed by whatever environment they encounter.’

Child Growth & Development: Children ‘require a rich stimulating environment to fully develop, they require more hands-on experience & less coddling, they need positive feed-back & encouragement, & they must learn to apply themselves, to work hard, & develop self-reliance & determination.’ Keep it light & simple, value the child’s interest, & be informal. Gradually, ramp-up instruction, making it increasingly structured & challenging.

Parents, coaches, schools, & constructive mentors & role models. Great achievement can be ‘grown’ by these relationships. IQ not an indicator success. Rather -influence of ‘the enthusiastic support of their family, early exposure to required chores, the development of a sound work ethic, lots of practice and determination, & coaching by devoted teachers.’

Not included. Not included. Promotes autonomy. Not included. Not included.

The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert Performance. Ericsson, et al., 199311

Expert performance is attributed to long periods of deliberate practice, along with motivational & environmental characteristics which allow for the individual to self-regulate & stick with sustained practice.

Psychology Qualitative & quantitative case studies (musicians).

Pre-elite & elite. Athlete & Environmental Factors (support).

Motivation. Holistic: Look at the ‘lives’ of the individual. What differentiates the expert performer, is the commitment to deliberate practice. This commitment exceeds that of the majority of children & adults that find difficulty in meeting even lower demands of practice in physical exercise, school & adult education.

Parental support & other influential individuals.

Not included. Not included. Motivation - to sustain years of deliberate practice, Concentration.

Not included. School & adult education considered.

Talent identification & development in soccer. Williams et al., 200083

Various situational factors & the role of family members & mentors override the natural ability of the performer. Appropriate familial, educational & socio-cultural environments are keystones in a balanced approach to child development. Having supportive parents, a stimulating & permissive coach & the dedication & commitment to spend hours & hours practicing & relearning skills are the real determinants of excellence.

Social/ Developmental Psychology & Pedagogy. Review of physical, physiological, psychological & sociological research presented to form a multidisciplinary perspective.

Pre-elite & elite. Athlete Factors.

General wellbeing. Socio-cultural environments are keystone factors in development. Injury prevention.

Parents, friends, quality coaches. Family members & mentors override the natural ability of the performer.

Not included. Not included. Concentration, commitment, self-confidence, less prone to anxiety under pressure. Perceptual-cognitive skills (anticipation, decision-making), intelligence & creative thinking.

Sports science & sports medicine.

Not included.


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Performance Level


Lifestyle Factors





Life-span Model of the Acquisition & Retention of Perceptual- Motor Expertise. Starkes et al.111

Descriptive model of skill acquisition & retention through assessment of perceptual-cognitive-motor skill components. Synopsis of observed behaviours. Four phases of development: Phase 1: Acquisition Phase 2: Condensation/ Elaboration Phase 3: Routine expertise Phase 4: Transcendent expertise. Performance is constantly in transition. Phases are linked to types of behaviours which are characteristic of particular times. The two streams A and B influence behaviour. Dynamic & constant interaction between the two; what people are able to perceive & understand & what people are able to perceive & do. Performance results from these streams & is either hindered or facilitated by their interaction. Additionally they have identified ‘anchor points’ (Phase 1-4).

Psychology, Motor Learning & Control. Review, case studies, new model.

Pre-elite & elite. Athlete Factors. Not included. Not included. Not included. Not included. Perceptual-motor & perceptual-cognitive behaviours, in relation to skill acquisition.

Not included. Not included.

The Developmental Model of Sports Participation (DMSP). Côté et al. 2007112

Link between deliberate practice and deliberate play, along with social connection. Caution against early specialisation. Distinguish between: Practice - organised activities where the principal focus is on skill development & performance enhancement. Play - activities undertaken for intrinsic enjoyment but may contribute to acquisition of expertise. Hours of deliberate practice: accumulated hours of practice relationship with performance. Sampling years (ages 6-12). Low frequency deliberate practice and high frequency deliberate play. Specialisation years (ages 13-15). Relatively equal deliberate practice/deliberate play. Investment years (age 16+). High frequency deliberate practice / low frequency deliberate play.

Social/ Developmental Psychology & Pedagogy. Review of literature.


Athlete & Environmental Factors (support)

Play - High levels of play leads to the athletes self-motivation & understanding of their own abilities.

Social connection, child-centred coaches, parents, are essential to developing athlete motivation to engage in deliberate practice later.

Deliberate play: facilitates intrinsic motivators (playing catch in the street with friends). Thus, facilitating willingness to engage in more structured participation. High levels of play lead to the athletes self-motivation and understanding of their own abilities.

Not included. Intrinsic motivation, self-regulation and self-directed participation, resultant from deliberate play. Self-determination theory & motivation in sport promote intrinsic regulation, autonomy based decisions, develop competence & connection with others.


Differentiated Model of Giftedness & Talent (DMGT) 2.0. Gagné, 2013110

Transformation of outstanding natural abilities ‘gifts’ into outstanding knowledge or skill “talent”. 6 natural ability domains. Mental Realm:

Psychology & Education. Review of literature & empirical observations.

Pre-elite & elite. Athlete & Environmental Factors: Intrapersonal, Developmental &

General health & influences of environment.

Parents, family, peers, teachers, mentors.

Values, needs, interests & passions Leisure.

Not included. Psychological characteristics & psycho-behaviours. Motivation.



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Performance Level


Lifestyle Factors





1. Intellectual 2. Creative 3. Social 4. Perceptual Physical Realm: 5. Muscular 6. Motor Control Two catalysts: Intrapersonal & Environmental with Chance influencing both of these. Interpersonal Catalysts personal traits & self-management processes. Environmental Catalysts socio-demographic factors, psychological influences - from parents, teachers, or peers, or special talent development facilities and programs. with Chance influencing both interpersonal & environmental catalysts. Biological roots (basements) exert their influence to moderate these natural abilities. (e.g., neurotransmitter activity, personality traits, genetic foundations).

Environmental plus Chance. Biological Basements: behavioural, anatomical & physiological phenotypes & genotypic foundations.

Eliminating the dichotomy between theory & practice in talent identification & development: considering the role of psychology. Abbott et al., 2004113

Importance of psychological characteristics in developing sporting excellence & effective TD & TI programs. Psychological determinants of performance: Psychological factors are key in explaining sustained athletic success. Prerequisites for learning & development: variables e.g. parental support, test-takings skills, past experiences & physical maturity. Use of meta-cognitive strategies to fulfil potential. Favourable environmental conditions & active learning processes which are supported through internal motivational & learning strategies. Multidimensional & dynamic concept of talent consisting of four stages: sampling, specialising, investment & maintenance. Overarching role of psycho-behaviors in facilitating the successful negotiation of developmental transitions through these stages.

Performance Psychology. Review of literature. Proposal of new model.

Pre-elite & elite. Athlete & Environmental Factors.

General to support a child’s overall development. ‘Performance’ may be a false indicator to identify potential. A child’s own interests can be an excellent, indicator of adult attainment. Distinguish between ‘determinants of performance’ & ‘determinants of potential.’

Parental support Promoting a child’s interests.

Not included.

Psychological attributes & psycho-behaviors such as motivation (for sustained practice), self-regulation, self-talk, imagery, goalsetting. Motivation to commit to high training loads over an extended period is a (if not ‘the’) crucial determining factor in acquiring and maintaining expertise.


Talent Development: A Guide for Practice & Research Within Sport.

Focus on nurturing & development rather than early TI. 3 PARTS

Psychology & Education. Review of literature. Plus model of

Pre-elite & elite. Athlete & Environmental Factors.

Focus on nurturing & development rather than early TI.

Support network. Skill level around relationships involved in

Not included. Nutrition - mentioned in regard to overall balance.

Fundamental psychological skills such as emotional attachment, intrinsic pleasure & motivation.



39



Performance Level


Lifestyle Factors





Martindale et al., 2005114

Part 1 5 main generic characteristics of effective Talent Development Environments: 1) Long-term aims & methods. 2) Wide-ranging coherent messages & support. 3) Emphasis on appropriate development not early success. 4) Individualised & ongoing development 5) Integrated, holistic & systematic development. Part 2 Summary and Guide For Effective TDEs. Part 3 Comparison of Current Practice With Key Messages Literature. Long-Term Coherent Messages & Support Emphasis on Appropriate Development & Not Early Success. Integrated, Holistic, & Systematic Approach.

effective talent identification & development procedures.

Balance - Balanced skill base, along with other factors such as nutrition, flexibility, strength, fundamental skills, mental skills, decision-making skills etc.

developmental stages. Promotes social system stability to facilitate a positive environment. Education for parents, schools, peers, coaches, & important others.

Psychological factors are causative drivers of success. Encourage responsibility & autonomy in Learning & development. Promote personal relevance & athlete understanding - high levels of intrinsic motivation & commitment are required.

Towards a model of talent development in physical education. Bailey, 2006115

Model of talent development in physical education. Framework for investigating the actualisation of abilities related to physical education. Abilities are multi-dimensional. Abilities and outcomes - distinguishes between expression of 5 abilities: Physical, Cognitive, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Creativity. Talent Development - Abilities. Practice, Identification. Provision. A variety of factors influence development of ability. Focus on physical education.

Psychology & Education. Review of literature.

Pre-elite & elite.

Environmental characteristics – Multifactorial Access and opportunity - Influences of different learning environments.

School environment. Teachers, coaches, family environment social & cultural connection.

Not included. Not included. Personal characteristics - Psychological characteristics stronger indicators of elite performance. Intrapersonal skills: self-control, self-efficacy, emotional intelligence. Determination, persistence, autonomy, self- efficacy, ambition, motivation & intrinsic motivation.


Long-term Athlete Development model (LTAD). Balyi, 201343

A systematic approach to optimal sport & physical activity development inclusive of healthy child development. 7 stages of athlete development. Recommendations at each stage, for measures of physicality to guide practitioners in regard to appropriate involvement in training & competition. 7 Stages: 1. Active Start 2. FUNdamentals 3. Learn to Train 4. Train to Train 5. Train to Compete

Exercise Physiology & Anatomy Early Childhood Development. Literature review. Plus observations & anecdotal evidence.


Athlete Factors Child centred. Inclusive of athletes with a disability.

Sport for Life Philosophy. Promotes skills for quality of life & health. Fosters continuous improvement & relationships between school sport, physical education, and organised sport at all levels.

Inclusiveness, Diversity. Fosters a holistic development of children & youth. Articulates the far-reaching effects of physical activity, e.g., expression of non-verbal representation, the ability to appropriately read situations and

Fostering engagement through encouraging participation in activities for enjoyment.

Reference to nutrition.

Intellectual, emotional & moral development.



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Performance Level


Lifestyle Factors





6. Train to Win 7. Active for Life 10 Key Factors: 1. Physical Literacy 2. Age 3. Specialisation 4. Trainability 5. Intellectual, Emotional & Moral Development 6. Excellence Takes Time 7. Periodisation 8. Competition 9. System Alignment 10. Continuous Improvement

respond intelligently & imaginatively. Concepts align with the wellbeing principles supporting human flourishing.

Athletic Talent Development Environment (ATDE) model. Henriksen et al., 2010116

A holistic ecological approach to athlete TD. Focus: whole environment, rather than individuals. Designed as a supplement to contemporary literature on TD and career development. Two concurrent models: ATDE working model - environment's components & structure. Micro level Macro level Athletic domain Non-athletic domain Environmental Success Factors (ESF) working model – structures factors contributing to the environment's success: Preconditions Process Individual development & achievements & Team achievements Organisational culture. Explanatory Empirical Model: The Environment Success Factors (ESF) Model – optimize learning, strong culture, performance process, individual responsibility.

Ecological & Organisational Psychology within a Systems Theory Framework. Review of literature & qualitative data. Case study. In depth interviews with administrators, coaches & athletes + document analysis 49er sailing team.

Pre-elite & elite. Environmental Factors.

Engagement with society as a whole & inclusive of organisational culture of the society in which the athlete lives. Considers athletes in context of their psychological, psycho-social & academic/ vocational development, rather than sport context alone. Holistic approach (not solely focused on sport and the micro-environment) for nurturing potential.

Emphasis on relational development & influence. Family, peers, school, coaches, support staff, other athletes (older/ younger), club mates)

Inclusive of: Non-athletic domain - all other aspects of the athletes’ lives. Micro level - daily life, real communication & interactions Macro level - settings (social) which affect the athlete but the athlete is not involved. Values/ customs of the cultures to which the athletes belong.

Not included. Psycho-social competencies: autonomy, responsibility, drive for excellence, resilience and social skills.

Reference to ‘experts’ within the athlete’s inner circle.

Academic/ vocational development.

The Youth Physical Development Model. Lloyd et al., 2012117

Physical development model with specific iteration to physical strength & conditioning. Distinguishing that fitness components are trainable throughout childhood. Debunking ‘Windows of opportunity.’ Spans from 2-21yrs 2 figures, each specific to male of female athletes, inclusive of hormonal adaptations.

Strength & Conditioning. Review of the literature. Plus new model.

Pre-elite & elite. Athlete Factors.

Promotes development of the child over performance outcomes. Athlete centred. Permits individualisation General wellbeing. Providing valuable & transferable life skills, through positive experiences.

High quality coaches with appropriate qualifications.

Not included. Not included. Intrinsic motivation. Sports Science.

Not included.


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Performance Level


Lifestyle Factors





Components of YPD: Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) & Sport-Specific Skills (SSS), Strength, Hypertrophy, Power, Speed, Agility, Mobility, Endurance & Metabolic Conditioning. Individualised to account for: Sex Differences, Early vs Late Maturing Individuals & Initial Training Status. Peak Height Velocity (PHV) & Peak Weight Velocity (PWV) are used to determine individual maturation rates. PWV being a phase of development characterised by rapid increases in muscle mass as a result of increasing sex hormone concentrations.

FTEM: Foundations, Talent, Elite, Mastery Gulbin et al., 201318

Non-linear movements featuring variable entry & exit points within the developmental pathway. Accounts for recreational physical activity to the elite high performance pathway. Devoid of fixed age boundaries. Comprehensive framework of physical activity which spans the lifetime, inclusive of elite & mastery level athletic performance. Characteristics: Foundations: fundamental movement skills, physical literacy & active lifestyle Talent: strategy to enter talent pathway. Elite / Mastery: support (domestic/international, autonomy, transition) Complimented by 3D-AD model to articulate the multidimensional, longitudinal & interactive nature of athlete development (non-elite, pre-elite, elite).

Psychology & Education. Review of the literature. Theoretical research perspectives plus empirical observations: New framework.


Athlete & Environmental Factors.

General and specialised phases of development. Promotes recreational activity through the lifespan.

Support network inclusive of parents, friends, peers & other family members.

Provides wellbeing, educational, coaching & vocational support along with transitional support.

Not included. Promotes autonomy Health professionals assist in supporting greater skill acquisition, reinforcement & motivation which are essential to achieving competency.

Inclusive of educational, & vocational support.

3 Dimensional Athlete Development Model (3D-AD) Complement to FTEM Gulbin & Weissensteiner, 201342

Three-dimensional representation of athlete development. Highlighting the leading factors supporting athlete development: athlete, environmental, system, & chance, modulating this outcome & which permeate through the developmental sequence: non-elite, pre- elite & elite phases. Particular skills increasing in size to represent increased importance as athlete moves along development pathway e.g. psychological attributes, physiological capacity, sports specific skills, practice & competitive investment, physical capacity.

Psychology & Education. Complement to FTEM framework.

Recreational (refered to as ‘non-elite’), pre-elite & elite.

Athlete & Environmental Factors.

Community. Parents, friends, peers, family members.

Not included. Not included. Psychological attributes – gaining importance as athlete moves along elite pathway. Self-regulation, mental toughness, coping abilities, confidence, self-belief, motivation.

Sports science, sports medicine.

Not included (although represented in overarching framework FTEM).


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3.1. Application of Lifestyle Factors

When discussing athlete development, there is often reference to ‘the child’ or ‘the

child athlete’. This is because athletes are often children or adolescents, or at least,

began their sporting trajectory in their youth. Any significant change to athlete

development pathways needs to happen both a grass-roots and systemic level, so

although this thesis focuses on elite athletes, their journey through the athlete

development pathway as a young person is notable.

The IOC consensus statement: ‘Training the elite child athlete’ recommends;

‘parents/ guardians should develop a strong support system to ensure a balanced

lifestyle including proper nutrition, adequate sleep, academic development,

psychological well-being and opportunities for socialisation.118 Further

recommendations include reducing stress and pressure, ensuring quality coaching,

prioritising injury prevention, continuing scientific endeavour to better understand

training the child athlete and importantly, that emphasis is placed on the

developmental process being pleasurable and fulfilling.118

These recommendations support themes identified within TD, such as play (both

deliberate and unstructured),43 112 119 interpersonal relationships, which was strongly

iterated by all models/constructs82 83 110 112 113 115-117 120 except Balyi.43 However, this

was the only model/construct which referenced nutrition (in the Train to Train

phase).43 The lack of consideration for diet and sports nutrition is surprising,

considering it is a huge aspect of an athlete’s life and performance.61

In regard to lifestyle, there is little mention of the overall ‘life’ in any comprehensive

detailed application of what this actually means. However, Gulbin et al. consider

‘vocation and life outside sport’ in the FTEM framework.18 Henriksen et al. consider

the non-athletic domain broadly set to encompass ‘all other aspects of the athletes’

lives’ (e.g., sport, studies, work and relationships).116 Erricsson et al.11 elaborate; ‘We

believe that a more careful analysis of the lives of future elite performers will tell us

how motivation is promoted and sustained.’ Gagné’s Differentiated Model of

Giftedness and Talent (DMGT) 2.0110 is probably the most comprehensive in regard

to lifestyle, stating ‘a number of lifestyle factors bear influence on application of the


43

model, including; health, social affection, leisure, academic level, and technology.’

Extra-curricular activities such as walking, yoga, Pilates, swimming etc are devoid of

any mention. However, although the DMGT provides a holistic model, it is not

specific to application within sport.

Henriksen et al.116 strive to provide a truly holistic application. Endeavouring to not

focus solely on sport to nurture potential, but to foster engagement with society as a

whole, inclusive of organisational culture of the society in which the athlete lives.

This application considers the athlete in the context of their psychological, psycho-

social & academic/ vocational development, rather than sport context alone.116

The importance of interpersonal relationships is highly regarded yet not always well

defined. Williams et al.83 suggest the real determinants of excellence are having

supportive parents, a stimulating and permissive coach and the dedication and

commitment to spend hours and hours practicing and relearning skills are the real

determinants of excellence. Bloom concurs and suggests, ‘various situational factors

and the role of family members and mentors override the natural ability of the

performer.82

The IOC consensus statement on youth athletic development25 sets out

recommendations for the development of resilient, healthy and capable athletes,

whilst providing the opportunity to engage in enjoyable, fulfilling participation in sport

at all levels. In particular, they highlight areas which that are not strongly represented

in the TD models (Table 3.1) such as: sleep, wellbeing, psychological overload and

nutrition.25

Sleep is critical in the developing athlete as many hormonal changes affect

homoeostatic and circadian regulation of sleep and insufficient sleep can lead to

injury and affect health, attention, learning, behaviour and athletic performance.25

Youth athletes face the sleep problems of other teenagers (often compromised sleep

due to early start times and late bedtimes), but with the added pressures of training

and competition schedules, further exacerbating the sleep debt.


44

In regard to wellbeing, Bergeron et al. caution against early specialisation, as

‘diverse athletic exposure and sport sampling enhance motor development and

athletic capacity, reduce injury risk and increase the opportunity for a child to

discover the sport(s) that he/she will enjoy and possibly excel at.’25 Although the

development of psychological skills and attributes are highlighted, athletes are often

at the peril of psychological overload from excessive demands and expectations.

Safeguarding the youth athlete from abuse in sport includes sexual harassment and

abuse, relational abuse such as emotional or physical abuse including over training

or forced physical exertion. The ‘utilisation of selection procedures that promote

eating disorders’, or ‘competing with an injury’, and medical mismanagement.25 The

IOC consensus statement25 recognises the importance of nutrition and dietary

requirements, along with education and appropriate supplementation which should

be structured and provided by a qualified professional to optimise energy and

nutrient needs, and prevent eating disorders.25

Athlete development in the early years should include a diversity of activities,

including practice and different variations of play. These are strong contributors of

continued participation in sport, elite performance, and sustained involvement in

more intense activities later in life.121 High amounts of deliberate play, early

diversification in multiple sports, child-centred coaches and parents, along with being

around peers who are involved in sports, are shown to be essential characteristics of

environments for young children which encourage their later investment in structured

practice activities.121

Also of note, is ‘The Holistic Athlete Career Model’ by Wylleman et al.122 Although,

this model is not included in Table 3.1 (as it is not a TD model), it is worth mentioning

as it represents the transitions and stages which athletes are faced, inclusive of

athletic, psychological, psychosocial, academic/vocational, and financial levels. It

also strongly articulates lifestyle factors. The “lifespan” model combined a

developmental (i.e., initiation into post-athletic career) with a holistic perspective (i.e.,

athlete’s multilevel development).122 See Appendix 16.


45

Considering, an elite athletic career can often span 15-25 years106 and requires

juggling training and travel, along with study/and or work demands, it is important to

understand the transitional challenges which athletes face. In particular, the

concurrent multilevel nature of many of these transitions.122 As an athlete moves

from adolescence into young adulthood, they are also shaping their identity,

requiring both greater independence, discipline and responsibility along with stronger

self-regulation and appropriate coping skills to deal with situations, pressures and

expectations. This is all while adopting the everyday lifestyle of an elite athlete (time

management, nutrition, recovery and recuperation, good sleep hygiene and training

load).122 At the same time, relationships with significant others are developing or

changing. There may be higher expectations from coaches and teammates,

interaction with parents diminishes (possibly even improving), and friendships

outside of sport may be impacted (positively or negatively) with the increased

demands of their elite sporting career. Romantic relationships may also become

more important.122

The cessation of sport can be confronting for an elite athlete and they can face a

number of challenges including; identity, change of lifestyle and withdrawal from

many relationships within the sporting environment.38 106 122 Crisis around identity,

can impact psychological wellbeing and result in feelings of dysphoric mood, a sense

of hopelessness, depression or suicidal behaviour.122 Retired athletes can be at a

higher risk of difficulties with sleep, relationships, physical exercise and finances.38

122 A holistic application of career transition is critical and should run concurrently

with athlete developmental models. Proactive retirement and wellness planning

should run alongside developmental training programs to support and educate

talented athletes in preparation for transition challenges such as entering senior

level, starting in higher education or becoming a parent.38 122

The area of athlete lifestyle is expanding slowly,32 41 however presently there is more

of an ad hoc approach to lifestyle and wellbeing factors and their inclusion in

developmental models. Further research in understanding the components that

make up an athlete’s lifestyle and all its iterations, is warranted.


46

In order to gain a greater understanding of the lifestyles of top athletes, and what

they attribute their success, a qualitative analysis was decided upon. This

methodology is outlined in the following chapter.


47

Chapter 4: Qualitative Methodology

This chapter details the methodology and data analysis used for the LEAP

interviews. The research described in this chapter was used in the production of 2

publications (see below). This methodology and underlying theoretical

considerations apply to both publications. As the two manuscripts have already been

peer reviewed and published, this chapter sits separately to expand on aspects of

methodological rigour that were not able to be included in the publications due to

word count restrictions.

Burns, L., Weissensteiner, JR., & Cohen, M. Lifestyles and Mindsets of Olympic,

Paralympic and World Champions: Is an Integrated Approach the Key to Elite

Performance? British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018; 53:818-824.

doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-099217

Burns, L., Weissensteiner, JR., & Cohen, M. Supportive interpersonal relationships:

a key component to high- performance sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine.

2019; 53(22):1386-1389 doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-100312

4.1. Introduction and Overview

The LEAP Interviews utilised a qualitative grounded theory approach involving a

series of in-depth semi-structured interviews that provided insight into the lifestyle

practices and mindset of elite athletes. World, Olympic and Paralympic Champions

from a variety of sports and ages were identified and invited to participate in a HREC

approved study where they were asked to be involved in an in-depth semi-structured

interview. The purpose of these interviews was to gain better understanding of the

lifestyle practices of this elite group. The research questions examined are:

• Are there particular lifestyle practices and behaviours to which elite athletes

attribute their success?

• Are there particular lifestyle practices and behaviours to which elite athletes

consider to inhibit their performance?

• Are there specific lifestyle practices and behaviours that are common across

elite athletes?


48

This chapter is organised by introduction and overview along with the rationale

behind selection of the type of research methods, research sample, an overview of

the research design, data collection and methods, followed by data analysis and

synthesis, ethical considerations, trustworthiness and limitations of this study.

Concluding with a chapter overview.

4.2. Rationale for Qualitative Research Design

The research design chosen for this study is a grounded theory approach, to best

engage the athletes’ voice123 and explore the perspectives of this sample of athletes.

This is intended to elicit the key themes related to lifestyle and other factors to which

they attribute their success, without any preconceived ideas induced by a particular

theoretical perspective. This qualitative approach was adopted because of its fluid

nature124 providing data rich in context and allowing for insights directly from lived

experiences.125 Grounded theory uses a systematic approach as a way of studying

social phenomena and psychological processes.124 Qualitative methodology

facilitates focus on discovery and description, with objectives often focused on

understanding and interpreting the meaning of experience.126 127 128

4.3. Research Sample

The participant sample included ten athletes (6 females and 4 males) from various

able-bodied, Paralympic, team and individual sports all of whom had won a gold

medal at an Olympic, Paralympic Games or World Championship event over varying

length of sporting careers. The participants included multiple mastery-level athletes

who had competed at elite levels for at least ten years with collective careers

spanning from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics to the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympics.

Medal performances range from a single gold-medal performance at an Olympic

Games or World Championship event, to multiple gold-medal performances over a

20-year career.

Participants were purposefully sampled, and a snowball recruitment campaign was

initiated through the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) and the lead author’s network.


49

Athletes were given a Participant Information Statement (see Appendix 2) and gave

written consent to be interviewed and identified.

In order to address the research questions pertaining to lifestyle factors of high elite

performers, inclusion criteria was determined athletes needed to have won a gold

medal at an Olympic, Paralympic or World Championship event. Athletes’ career

information including gold medals at these events along with the number of

Olympic/Paralympic Games attended was collated in a table distinguishing further

characteristics: able bodied, Paralympic, team sport, individual sport, team and

individual, female and male. This table is presented in the following chapter as it sits

within the published work. See table 5.1. No participant declined to be audiotaped.

4.4. Research Design Overview

A summary of the steps to carry out the research is summarised below, with a

lengthier discussion to follow:

• Preceding data collection, a review of current athlete development models

and support systems, was carried out, determining lines of questioning which

expands on current literature and identifying potential areas to expand on to

gain deeper understanding.

• After designing the interview structure guide (Table 5.2) and interview script

(Appendix 4), a proposal was submitted to the RMIT Human Ethics

committee, which gained approval.

• Potential participants were contacted by email, either by the VIS or by the

lead researcher. Those who agreed to participate were emailed a Participant

Information Statement and a copy of the interview questionnaire.

• Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 World, Olympic

and Paralympic champions.

• Analysis of interview data responses between interviewees was conducted

between researchers.

• Further research, expanding on these themes was planned as a result of the

data analysis.


50

4.5. Publications of Relevance

Relevant articles pertinent to this research were Fletcher and Sarker,13

Weissensteiner et al129 and Holt et al.130 These papers have provided a guide as a

reference to how to effectively incorporate participant quotes into the paper, linking

them and providing relevance to the associated theme or subtheme. For example,

Fletcher and Sarker discuss focus and attach a representative quote:

The ability to focus was an important aspect of resilience for the world’s best athletes. Specifically, they were able to focus on themselves, not be distracted by others, focus on the process rather than the outcomes of events, and were able to switch their sport focus on and off to suit the demands they faced. One Olympic champion recalled how his single-minded focus on himself and the team resulted in him being almost unaware of the stressors around him: It’s funny, in a way I was kind of oblivious to pressures because I think in some ways you just go so into yourself. well, it’s a hugely selfish thing isn’t it? You’re concentrating on yourself and this group of five people and you’re living in each other’s pockets. 13

These papers used a grounded theory approach and utilised interviews to elicit data.

Similarly, they were all largely exploratory in nature requiring a highly generative

methodology which allowed an inherent freedom to explore situation dynamics along

with the interrelationships of critical components. This provided sufficient flexibility

and therefore facilitated the ability for continual redirection of the focus of inquiry to

concentrate on areas of emerging importance.

4.6. Review of Current Models

A review of the existing literature informed this study. This is detailed in Chapter 3.

4.7. Ethics Approval

Following the review of current literature, researchers developed designed a

proposal for this study including background and context, purpose and research

questions, methodology, interview script and ethical considerations (see below). The

study was approved by the RMIT Human Research Ethics Committee (ASEHAPP

15-16). See Appendix 3.


51

4.8. Data Collection and Methods

Strauss and Corbin’s method of grounded theory124 131 was used to develop the

substantive theory because the underlying premise is that knowledge is dynamic and

socially and situationally constructed, rather than fixed and discoverable. Grounded

theory allows the exploration in the real experiential world of complex interacting

individuals, and also facilitates the study of the complexity of whole interacting

systems. This inquiry looking at the lifestyles and mindsets of elite athletes is located

in the dyadic network and the interactions of the person within the lifestyle and

sporting environment where reality is emergent. The purpose of using grounded

theory here is to abstract from practical lived experiences to concepts and

propositions that explain social interactions, habits or processes.

This inquiry was not intended to test or validate existing theories or to interpret

personal experiences numerically. The aim of this study was to elucidate any

commonalities amongst a variety of athletes from different sports, pertaining to

lifestyle choices, mindset and what this elite group of individuals attribute their

success. Given the experiential context of the participants, grounded theory allows

for the exploration of depth and detail of concepts, propositions, and contextual and

influencing factors. It offers the potential for information-rich data126 which captures

the typical or exemplar and variable experiences of athletes within a complex

framework of coaches/family/friends/support staff.124

Data sources included participant interviews, interview notes, and literature pertinent

to athlete pathway development. Data source selection was based on the potential to

provide and elaborate on information necessary for the emerging theory and further

contribute to this field of research. Collection, interpretation and analysis of data

concluded when saturation was reached. That is when no new insights into the

emerging theory were forthcoming and the categories and concept relationships

were fully developed.124 126 131


52

4.9. Interviews

In preparation for the interviews, a semi-structured interview guide was developed

and featured a broad-line of questioning on developmental background, athlete

profile, lifestyle practices, support networks and key support services. See Table 5.2

for interview guide structure. Following this, a full interview script was prepared. See

Appendix 4. At the beginning of each interview general questions on the athlete’s

background were posed to assist in developing rapport. All questions were asked in

a conversational tone. Probe questions were utilised where required, to expand on a

theme or gain a deeper understanding.132 Interviews were conducted by the lead

researcher and recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Interviews were scheduled to allow time in between for transcription and preliminary

analysis before the next interview, as with accordance with constant comparative

analyses. Constant comparison is the process of data collection, analysis,

comparison and ongoing comparison of the data to the theory which is developing.

Incidents are compared to incidents, similarities and differences are evaluated,

leading to categories with definition, description or properties, and differentiation.124

With each interview, the researcher was able to develop and revise the emergent

theory, as is congruent with grounded theory.

The lead researcher emailed individual participants outlining the purpose of the

study, inviting their participation, and requesting a convenient time and date for a

face to face interview. Following this, the researcher sent a follow up email to confirm

location and time along with the interview questions and Participant Information

Statement. Interviews took place between July – October 2016. Of the 10 interviews

conducted, 8 were face-to-face and 2 were via video conferencing. All interviews

were recorded in their entirety and transcribed verbatim. An Interview Guide

Structure was developed and published within the manuscript. See Table 5.2

Sample questions from the interview guide.


53

4.10. Data Analysis and Synthesis

Initial themes were extracted by sentence-by-sentence open-coding using NVivo

qualitative software (version 11.3).124 In accordance with constant comparative

analyses, interviews were spread to allow for transcription, analyses and reflection to

occur so that evolving themes and subthemes could be further explored and

elucidated in the next interview.124 131 133 Participants were purposively sampled to

fully explore and confirm the evolving theory and model.131 133 Emergent higher-order

themes (e.g., psychological factors) and lower-order themes representing relevant

sub-components (e.g., self-regulation) were identified. See Table 5.3 Higher order

emergent themes and sub-themes. Coding continued until theoretical saturation

occurred and no further themes emerged.133 Lastly, a conceptual model

incorporating all relevant themes, including the inter-relationships between them was

created from the analysis. See Figure 5.1 Contributors to World Class Performance.

Although discussion and data analysis occurred between each interview with

researchers discussing and explored emerging themes, most of the higher order

emergent themes and sub-themes became apparent when all data was collected.

The lead researcher collated each participants comments into groupings for each

question, highlighting similarities and differences in themes along the way.

Information was distributed between the three researchers for discussion, reflection

and comparison. Emergent themes were colour coded as were sub-themes, as the

conceptual framework began to take shape. Collaboration between researchers

confirmed emergence of themes and was helpful in cross-checking data analysis.

4.11. Ethical Considerations

In order to protect the rights of the participants and the information which they

provide, ethical considerations were examined by researchers.127 As per

recommendations from the RMIT Human Research Ethics Committee, researchers

communicated clearly to participants that participation was voluntary and they could

withdraw at any time. Participants were informed of the study’s purpose and

informed they could access their transcript, and that the information they provided

was stored on an encrypted computer. It was deemed by the researchers and the


54

RMIT Human Research Ethics Committee that there were no serious threats posed

to any participants or their well-being. No sensitive or deeply personal information

was asked of them during the interview process.

4.12. Trustworthiness

Methodological rigor and trustworthiness was ensured throughout via a complement

of strategies to control for potential bias through design, implementation and

analysis.134 To ensure credibility and accurate portrayal of the participants

perceptions any potential biases were listed up front 134 (eg, the lead researcher was

also an Olympic gold medallist), monitoring by way of regular meetings between

researchers, any subjective perspectives and diligent recording of a journal for

reflective notetaking. The lead researcher also utilised a journal to record notes,

observations, reflections, potential themes and questions between interviews.

Regular meetings between researchers were held throughout the data-analysis

phase to discuss and confirm emergent themes and sub-themes and provide ‘peer

debriefing’134 to ensure accuracy. Analysis of the transcription of interviews was

spread amongst the researchers to establish inter-rater reliability and check for

consistency between raters in order to reduce potential bias of one researcher. A

hallmark of qualitative research is ‘thick description’126 which is used as a tool to

communicate a comprehensive, holistic and real picture for the reader. To provide

this richness and to ensure representativeness, quotations from participants were

applied to illustrate and support each emergent theme and sub-theme. For example:

Intrinsic Motivation

Strong intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic reward and recognition was evident. A hunger for self-challenge and being the best was prevalent, along with a connection to something meaningful.

AIF2 shared: My earliest memory of what drove me to run was just feeling happy when I ran. I felt so free …so untouchable. I was never the type of person who needed to be watched. I didn't need to have an audience. I just took off and it was like I'd left everything or everybody behind me. It made me happy to take notice of nature. The Athlete-Coach Partnership

Athletes reported the most valued support from their coach was not technical but inter-personal and relational (e.g., emotional support and encouragement, open and honest communication and strong rapport). Some athletes also acknowledged the paramount importance of their coach’s technical ability.


55

AT/IM2 talks about the role of a coach being more than just technical: The coach that I had in my best years was an Italian guy, he was an Olympic medallist in his own right and fully understood coaching doesn’t stop until you go to bed at night. Because he'd become a part of your life, he's nearly a part of your family. Then they become good coaches and they become a dual role of a coach and a manager. I think at the top level, you don’t need a technical coach. We've worked out what we need to do. It's what’s going on in your brain will determine how you shoot. And that's often all you need, distract you, just keep you calm, keep you calculated, give you confidence.

PI/TM2 shares: He’d never coached anyone with a disability, so he probably didn't know where to start except I know a friend had the discussion with him about if he would take me on, and he was like, “Oh, I never had anyone with a disability.” And she was like, “… just treat him like another athlete. He'll be fine.” And once he did that, once he made that conscious decision that if I was down on the ground, about to spew and I had another rep to go, and if it was another athlete in the squad he'd kind of kick him on the leg a bit and say, “Hey, get up, you've got another one to go,” once he kind of did that with me I was kind of like, “Yes, great,” because the last thing I wanted was a coach that would say, “Oh yeah, but it's okay, you've got one arm.”

See Appendix 5 for representative quotes pertaining to each higher order theme and

sub-themes.

4.13. Limitations and Strengths

A limitation of this study is the small sample of subjects from different sports and it is

therefore not possible to make conclusions about any specific sport or make

meaningful conclusions about differences between athletes. It is the firm intent of the

researchers to further explore and confirm the relative impact of the emergent

themes from this study, utilising a customised survey tool administered to a large

participant sample that includes varying types of athletes including Paralympic

athletes from a pre-elite to an elite level.

The fact that the sporting achievements of many of these athletes spanned over two

decades, further raises the likelihood of generational differences in education and

awareness, technology, culture, sports science and sports medicine support,

nutrition and training methods, along with differences in self-disclosure, self-

awareness, subjectivity and recall of key events and their reflections, that may be

impacted upon with the passing of time.

Other relevant limitations of this methodology are the positioning of the researchers,

namely the lead researcher who is also an Olympic gold medallist and achieving

appropriate distance and trustworthiness whilst collecting and analysing data.

However, the researcher also brings relevance with their own values, interests and


56

interpretation.135 Other limitations are that grounded theory often results in large

amounts of data which can be difficult to analyse and there are no standard

procedures to adhere to when identifying categories and key emergent themes.136

The strengths of this study are the world-class quality of the sample. The main

researcher being an athlete, greatly facilitated trust leading to generosity and

honesty of insight by interviewees and was a methodological advantage in effectively

‘tapping into the athlete voice’.31 However, care was taken to ensure separateness

between researcher and participant in order to maintain objectivity and

trustworthiness.135 Another notable strength is the inclusion of the experiences and

perspectives of world-class Paralympic athletes.

4.14. Chapter Summary

Qualitative inquiry differs from quantitative research in that it is primarily explorative

research which is fluid in nature.124 134 It seeks to gain an understanding and assign

meaning to opinions, motivations, behaviours and reasons which leads to more

descriptive and narrative reporting from the data generated.137 It is rich in context as

it is derived from studying people in their environment which allows for descriptions

and conceptualisations of human experience which are abstracted from practical

lived experiences.125 Qualitative data analysis interprets and classifies linguistic or

visual material to make statements regarding explicit or implicit dimensions or

structures and make meaning of the representation.138 Grounded theory is provides

a qualitative methodology using a systematic approach to study social

phenomena.124

This chapter, in summary detailed the research methodology implemented for this

study. A grounded theory phenomenology was utilised to illustrate key lifestyle,

support, psychological, recovery and relational factors to which elite athletes attribute

their success. This resulted in a new model: Contributors to World Class

Performance (see Figure 5.1), along with updating the well-recognised 3D-AD

model.18


57

A grounded theory was chosen as it presents a framework to systematically develop

theories related to psychological processes which is relevant to our research

question.124 Theory is generated via the transaction of researcher and data,131 133

which is enabled by axial coding, whereby inductive reasoning (begins with a

conclusion – moves specific to general) and deductive reasoning (begins with a

premise - moves general to specific) are employed to result in the interpretation of

data and formulation of a grounded theory. This application is increasingly used in

relation to understanding athletic performance.13 139

The strengths of qualitative research and application and purpose of using grounded

theory in this study is to abstract from practical lived experiences to concepts and

propositions that explain social interactions, habits or processes. Although there are

many models pertaining to athlete pathway13 42 116 140 as described earlier, there are

none that are inclusive of lifestyle, nutrition and recovery, support and psychological

factors in a holistic framework.

Data collection resulted from informant interviews and research interview notes with

integration of athlete pathway literature. Constant comparison methods were used

for data analysis.124 This study resulted in a deeper understanding of factors which

are key to success in elite sport, a representative conceptual model for these

contributing factors and their dynamic nature. Further analysis on the importance of

inter-personal relationships and self-regulation, along with updating the 3D-AD

model.18 A substantive grounded theory has been developed encompassing a more

holistic approach to athlete development. This study has met the demands of rigor

and trustworthiness for qualitative research.

Findings from the perspectives offered by the current champion sample, confirmed

that the athletic profile and support required to reach and sustain podium level

performance is multi-dimensional, integrated and individualised and that

psychological factors are paramount. Understanding more about the role and impact

of these key factors is critical to informing current athlete and system level support.

An integrated approach encompassing these four dimensions can potentially be

used to inform the development of a valid and reliable screening tool that assesses a

developing athlete’s competency in each of these domains and is a pre-cursor to


58

tailored education and intervention that can maximise an athlete’s longevity and

performance success. Aims for this research is to provide more specific guidelines

for athlete education to ensure these performance and lifestyle strategies are utilised

effectively, particularly at the pre-elite and elite level. To facilitate greater education

for coaches and support staff, in the area of interpersonal skills and rapport with

athletes. For athlete frameworks to hone strategies to strengthen and facilitate

interpersonal relationships within the athlete’s support network and the inclusion of

lifestyle factors within athlete development frameworks to guide system level

implementation.


59

Chapter 5: Lifestyles and Mindsets of Olympic, Paralympic

and World Champions: Is an Integrated Approach the Key

to Elite Performance?

Introduction Following the methodology and study design and application outlined in the previous

chapter, the following paper was submitted and published in the British Journal of

Sports Medicine.

The contents of this chapter have been published and are presented in the format of

the accepted manuscript: Burns L, Weissensteiner JR, Cohen M. Lifestyles and

mindsets of Olympic, Paralympic and world champions: is an integrated approach

the key to elite performance? British Journal of Sports Medicine 2018;53(13):818-

824. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-099217. For the published format see Appendix 1.


60

5.1. Abstract

Objectives: The holy grail of any nation in the global sporting race is to better

understand, replicate and sustain podium winning performances on the world stage.

International sporting bodies advocate a holistic approach to the athletic profile and

environmental and system level factors required for world-class sporting

performance, yet key lifestyle, relational, training, and performance practices are

commonly overlooked. We aimed to explore the contribution, interplay, and impact of

lifestyle and psychological factors amongst a sample of world-class, champion

athletes.

Methods: Open-ended, semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with

10 World, Olympic and Paralympic Champion athletes that covered their sporting

development and athletic profile including their mindset, training and competition

practices, along with lifestyle and other key factors to which they attributed their

success. A thematic approach guided by Grounded Theory principles, was employed

to source and analyse their perspectives and experiences and determine common

themes.

Results: Four dominant and overlapping themes emerged: psychological attributes,

interpersonal relationships, performance strategies and lifestyle practices. All

athletes attributed their success to psychological rather than physical factors, and

the vast majority relied on mental-rehearsal skills and recovery practices.

Conclusion: The athletic profile and support required to reach and sustain podium

level performance is multi-dimensional, integrated and individualised and

psychological factors are paramount. Championship performance is likely to occur at

the intersection of psychological prowess, interpersonal support, effective

performance strategies, and lifestyle. An integrated approach inclusive of these

dimensions can be used to guide athlete development and support at both at an

individual and collective level.


61

5.2. Introduction

Being a world-class athlete is more than the outcome of an event, it is a way of life

that encompasses all aspects of the athlete’s lifestyle and becomes an integral part

of their identity.141 Athletes progressing from pre-elite to elite levels need to balance

multiple factors including: the demands of competition, stressors, and negative

chance events; interactions with family, peers, coaching and support staff; and the

need to effectively ‘negotiate several key life transitions’.13 39 42 106 140 142 Lifestyle

practices and daily routines such as sleep, relaxation, diet, hydration, water-

immersion therapy, entertainment and social networks are therefore critical to

achieving and maintaining elite performance. The quest to ‘unlock the secrets’ of

world-class performance involves understanding the attributes, skills, strategies,

support, environment and lifestyles of elite performers.42

International governing sport agencies such as the International Olympic Committee

(IOC) suggest that support for an athlete must be holistic, integrated and evidence-

based.25 Whilst current and predominant athlete development frameworks notably

the FTEM (Foundation, Talent, Elite and Mastery) Athlete Development framework

and complementing 3DAD (Three Dimensional Athlete Development) model,42 140

LTAD (Long Term Athlete Development) framework,43 Developmental Model of Sport

Participation,112 Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent,143 and Psychological

Characteristics of Developing Excellence144 145 models seek to describe the

development and maintenance of elite performance in terms of the required athlete

profile, environmental and system level factors,13 116 120 140 none to date consider the

contribution and impact of lifestyle factors.13 116 120 140 Even the more recent ‘Great

British Medalists project’,146 ‘My Sporting Journey’ project,21 and studies performed

by Fletcher and Sarkar13 which tap into and utilise the athlete’s voice, provide great

insights regarding key factors contributing to success, but do not consider the impact

of nutrition, hydration, sleep, recovery, support and the recreational practices of elite

athletes. This is at odds with current high-performance strategy where the provision

and impact of educational and practical support specific to disciplines such as

nutrition, recovery and wellbeing, are well recognised. In this investigation, we

engaged the athletes’ voice by exploring the perspectives of elite athletes through a

qualitative approach in order to understand the lifestyle and other factors to which


62

they attribute their success with the intent of informing a grounded and truly holistic

athlete framework that will in turn, guide future research, strategy and practice.

5.3. Method

A qualitative thematic approach guided by grounded theory principles and

incorporating one-on-one semi-structured interviews with World, Olympic and

Paralympic gold medal winning athletes was utilised to gain further insight regarding

what athlete and environmental factors contribute to success and explore the relative

contribution and interplay of lifestyle factors to athlete wellbeing and sustained high

performance. Due to the exploratory nature of this study, this methodological

approach was deemed to be the most appropriate given its generation of rich data

grounded in the lived experience of the participant.124 Such an approach also affords

inherent flexibility to permit continual redirection of the focus of the inquiry to fully

elucidate key factors and their interaction leading to the development of a grounded

conceptual model of the phenomenon.125 131 133 This qualitative approach has been

used more frequently in the field of athlete development and expertise13 130 139 as it

meets these requirements.

The research team consisted of an Olympic gold medallist and naturopath/

nutritionist; a registered medical practitioner and Professor of Health Sciences; and a

principal advisor with PhD qualifications within the Sport Development section at the

New South Wales Office of Sport with extensive experience in qualitative research

methods.

5.3.1. Participants

The participant sample included ten athletes (6 females and 4 males) from various

able-bodied, Paralympic, team and individual sports all of whom had won a gold

medal at an Olympic, Paralympic Games or World Championship event and varying

length of sporting career. A snowball recruitment campaign was initiated through the

Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) and the lead author’s network. Athletes were given a

Participant Information Statement and gave written consent to be interviewed and


63

identified. The study was approved by the RMIT Human Research Ethics Committee

(ASEHAPP 15-16).

5.3.2. Participant Involvement

Participants in this study were not involved in the design if the research question or

outcome.

All interviews were conducted by the first author. Eight interviews were conducted

face-to-face and two via video, with an average duration of 1 hour. Breadth of

experience of the participant sample and their gold medal results are presented in

Table 5.1.


64

Table 5.1. Summary of participant sample and number of key international events competed at, along

with gold medals won

Athlete Sample

KEY A = Able bodied P = Paralympic T = Team sport I = Individual sport

T/I = Team & Individual F = Female M = Male

Athlete Olympic/Paralympic

Games Attended Gold Medals

World Championship/Cup

Gold Medal Performances

Gold Medals

AIF2

Barcelona 1992 Atlanta 1996 Sydney 2000

Gold World Championships 2x Gold

AT/IM1

Sydney 2000 Athens 2004

3x Gold 2x Gold World Championships 11x Gold

AT/IM2

Seoul 1988 Barcelona 1992

Atlanta 1996 Sydney 2000 Beijing 2008 London 2012

Gold World Cup

World Championship

5x Gold 4x Gold

PI/TM1

Atlanta 1996 Sydney 2000 Athens 2004

- World Championships Gold

ATF4


Gold - -

PI/TM2


Gold 2x Gold

World Championships ’98 Gold

AIF1

Not an Olympic Sport - World Titles 7x Gold

AIF3

Beijing 2008 London 2012

Rio 2016 - World Championships Gold

AIF4

Lillehammer 1994 Nagano 1998

Salt Lake City 2002 Torino 2006

Vancouver 2010

- World Titles 9x Gold

ATF5

Rio 2016 Gold - -


65

5.3.3. Procedures

A semi-structured interview guide was developed and featured a broad-line of

questioning on developmental background, athlete profile, lifestyle practices, support

networks and key support services (see Table 5.2 for interview guide structure). At

the beginning of each interview general questions on the athlete’s background were

posed to assist in developing rapport. All questions were asked in a conversational

tone. Probe questions were utilised where required, to expand on a theme or gain a

deeper understanding. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Table 5.2. Sample questions from the interview guide

Interview Guide Structure

Interview Section Aim Exemplar Questions

I. Introduction, Sport Background & Rapport Building

To explain the research and identify sporting achievements and developmental background and develop trust and rapport between the researcher and athlete.

Tell me about how you got involved in your sport? What is the highest level of competition you have achieved? How long have you been competing at senior international level? Please explain your training regimen during the peak of your career.

II. Identification of the Athlete Profile

Identify and explore physical and psychological attributes, motivation and strategies and sport-specific skill competency.

To what (factors/attributes) do you attribute your success? What planning and preparation did you do leading up to a major event? Tell me about your ability to cope and adapt with changing circumstances? What recovery tools did you utilize during your training? Do you use any mental imagery techniques? Can you tell me about your practice?


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Interview Guide Structure

Interview Section Aim Exemplar Questions III. Lifestyle Practices

Explore lifestyle practices and routines.

Did you have any ‘extra-curricular’ training activities you implemented that were separate to the set team training program? As part of your preparation did you see any complementary health practitioners? Can you describe your daily diet during a pre-competition and competition day?

IV. Support Networks & Key Support Services

Identify the role and influence of support networks both in and out of their sport.

Do you have someone in your life who makes you laugh? Who provided you with support during the hard times of your sporting career? How would you describe your relationship with your coach?

V. Balance, Rest & Relaxation

Identify practices employed outside of their main sport for time out, rest and relaxation.

What did you do to relax when you weren’t training or competing? Did you have any specific treats, rituals, or rewards?

5.3.4. Data Analysis

Initial themes were extracted by sentence-by-sentence open-coding using NVivo

qualitative software (version 11.3).124 In accordance with constant comparative

analyses, interviews were spread to allow for transcription, analyses and reflection to

occur so that evolving themes and subthemes could be further explored and

elucidated in the next interview.124 131 133 Participants were purposively sampled to

fully explore and confirm the evolving theory and model.124 131 Emergent higher-order

themes (e.g., psychological factors) and lower-order themes representing relevant

sub-components (e.g., self-regulation) were identified. Lastly, a conceptual model

incorporating all relevant themes, including the inter-relationships between them was

created.

Methodological rigor and trustworthiness were ensured throughout via a complement

of strategies. Firstly, the main researcher utilised a journal to record notes,

observations, reflections, potential themes and questions for the next interviewee.

Secondly, regular meetings between researchers were held throughout the data-


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analysis phase to discuss and confirm emergent themes and sub-themes. Lastly, to

ensure representativeness, quotations from participants were applied to illustrate

and support each emergent theme and sub-theme.

5.4. Results

Four dominant themes emerged from the interviews: psychological factors,

performance strategies, interpersonal relationships and lifestyle practices. The

psychological dimension was the strongest and most impactful theme to emerge

from the data analysis along with its underpinning sub-themes (see Table 5.3). The

athletes’ psychological attributes, cognitive competence, strong self-regulation and

utilisation of mental rehearsal or imagery were closely related, and directly impacted

the other emergent themes. These included getting the right match of support in and

out of sport; adoption of key complementary lifestyle and performance practices (i.e.

utilisation of complementary therapies; yoga, meditation, recovery, sleep and

nutrition); embracing competition exposure and accrued experience within the daily

performance environment; and refining their sport-specific skill, in particular their

tactical and technical preparation and performance.

Table 5.3. Higher order emergent themes and sub-themes

Psychological Attributes

Superior Self-Regulation Intrinsic Motivation Effective Visualisation and Imagery Strategies Reliance on Faith, Routines or Rituals Strong Work Ethic Self-Confidence and Dominance Effective Coping Strategies and Positive Mindset

Performance Strategies

Maximising Training and Performance Opportunities Effective Utilisation of Sports Science Physical Therapies and Recovery

Interpersonal Relationships

Having the Right Support Team The Athlete-Coach Partnership

Lifestyle Practices

Nutrition and Hydration Utilisation of Complementary Therapies Importance of Time Out


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When athletes were asked ‘To what do you attribute your success?’ all athletes

referred to psychological competencies, with none crediting their physical attributes.

The psychological profiles of these athletes were multi-dimensional and refined,

featuring strong and enduring self-regulation, strong intrinsic motivation, effective

coping skills, self-confidence, dominance and resilience, strong work ethic and

preparation, hunger for self-challenge, a positive mindset, and effective coping with

injury and other seemingly negative chance events. When asked ‘What advice would

you give other athletes?’ their responses were psychological in nature, and included

themes around self-belief, not getting distracted, using detailed mental imagery and

visualisation, meticulous preparation prior to an event, embracing challenging

competitive experiences, mental preparation, having a good support team and

feeling comfortable being alone.

The following section addresses the commonalities elicited from the data.

Representative quotes are provided in Table 5.4. to illustrate and expand on each

theme and sub-theme.


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Table 5.4. Representative Quotes from Athletes

Psychological Attributes Superior Self-Regulation All athletes possessed high cognitive competence enabling them to maximise learning and performance opportunities continually honed through self-reflection and self-awareness of their strengths and limitations. They were meticulous with planning and preparation and adept at problem-solving and proactively seeking and experimenting with potential solutions, which enhanced their self-efficacy, confidence, resilience, and dominance.

AIF1 comments: There are three things that I attribute to my success. Vision, a real clear sense of what I want. Courage, to keep getting up and fighting, courage to surround myself with the right people and put my hand up and ask for help; and resilience to keep getting up, because I failed a lot more than I succeeded.

Intrinsic Motivation Strong intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic reward and recognition was evident. A hunger for self-challenge and being the best was prevalent, along with a connection to something meaningful.

AIF2 shared: My earliest memory of what drove me to run was just feeling happy when I ran. I felt so free …so untouchable. I was never the type of person who needed to be watched. I didn't need to have an audience. I just took off and it was like I'd left everything or everybody behind me. It made me happy to take notice of nature.

Effective Visualisation & Imagery Strategies All athletes incorporated and heavily relied on mental rehearsal and visualisation as a preparatory strategy or way to refine their sporting skills, sharing their preferred approaches, experimentation with different perspectives, and engaging their senses.

AIF4 revealed: I visualised myself from a judge’s perspective, from a helicopter angle and, in my own eyes what I see. It takes a lot of skill to be able to do that and get it to play the right images and not negative ones or crashing. When I sat in the wheelchair (due to injury), that's all I did, visualise, even my body healing. I used to visualise myself at the gym and doing everything that I couldn't do…it's just training smarter.

Reliance on Faith, Routines or Rituals All athletes utilised routines, however some maintained they purposely refrained from superstitions or religious faith whereas others followed these fastidiously.

AIF3 responded: It gives me strength. It helped me a lot to let go of superstitions. It’s sort of like everything’s predestined. Everything’s going to turn out the way it's supposed to. Believing in God and doing my prayers, it settles me and it's important for me.

ATF4 said: I think it's more important to believe in yourself than to believe in something else. Maybe by believing in something else that helps somebody believe in themselves more, fantastic if that's the way they want to be, but I just learned to believe in myself.


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Strong Work Ethic Independent rigor and meticulousness in preparation and actively seeking out and engaging with knowledge or experts to assist in their training, performance or recovery was applied by all athletes. Considerable time and effort in seeking, experimenting with, and honing potential strategies and solutions and placing themselves in uncomfortable situations (e.g., tough competition or training) to challenge themselves further was evident.

Preparation was important to AT/IM2: I religiously got ready the night before so when I woke up the next morning everything was in place. I’d come home from the last practice session and the next morning was the comp, the first thing I would do is get everything ready. All the physical things I had the control over. I was very regimented like that.

AT/IM1 describes his process before a competition: Shaving down. You know what it's like to get into sheets. It just feels great. The same with the water. It’s more to do with the sensory side of how that feels, it heightens your awareness of the water and where it's moving, and you feel like you're going through silk. That was end of the training phase, and then I'm straight into competition mode. Nine times out of 10, I knew the outcome.

Self-Confidence & Dominance Self-assurance resounded strongly across all athletes and much of this confidence developed as a result of accrued experience in both training and competition.

When asked ‘how mentally strong did you feel on the day of competition?’ AIF 1 responded: Unbeatable, most of the time. AIF 4 was asked if she studied her opponents: I didn't study anybody. I figured they were studying me. I never ever wasted the time in thinking about anybody else, ever.

Effective Coping Strategies & Positive Mindset Mental strength and competition experience were used to enhance the athletes’ ability to cope with and adapt to changing circumstances. Whilst all athletes faced differing levels of adversity through seemingly negative chance events, their ability to cope, by adopting a pragmatic yet calm, confident and methodical approach was evident. Some athletes had minimal or virtually no injuries, whereas others had life-changing injuries that culminated in major operations, extensive rehabilitation and modification of their training program. The Paralympians who had rehabilitation and management as a result of their impairment and the athletes who suffered major injuries all showed incredible mental fortitude and positivity, with a big picture attitude and clear goals that helped their rehabilitation and resilience.

ATF4 describes her response after a career-changing knee injury: Instead of just going, “Well, just wait and see what happens” I put a plan together. I put dates on it, then when I couldn't do one thing, I'd miss it and go to the next one. Because it was written on a ball, it was in front of me every single day, it was a reminder; “This is what I'm going for.” It wasn’t something that was deep in the back of my mind, it kept me accountable to do the work, to do the rehab, to keep trying, pushing to the next step. Then other people saw it and we talked about it. They'd come into the house and see the ball and we'd chat about it. So that was good, by having the goal out there, it helped people support me.


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Performance Strategies Maximising Training & Performance Opportunities All athletes described getting the most out of their training, initiated either by the coach or the athletes. Many attributed embracing rigorous competition exposure as a contributing factor to their success.

AT/IM2 recommends seeking competition exposure: There are a lot of good practice people out there, a very small percentage of good competitors. You can learn it, but you've got to be put under pressure. Just find me competitions with pressure. Lots of competition. That's what I've always told people. Get as much competition as you physically can get and then find some more, because the more times you are exposed to pressure the better you get. A lot of people don’t like competition, they like to train a lot but when they get to a big competition it then becomes foreign.

Effective Utilisation of Sports Science A variety of sports science methods were used, including monitoring breathing patterns with heart rate monitors, individualised sports specific exercises and urine testing to monitor hydration. Video analysis was common across all athletes, either self-initiated or via their coaching and sports-science team. Various applications were employed, including analysis of their own and their competitors’ techniques and strategies. Utilisation of the latter was sport dependent e.g., sports featuring strategic interaction with opponents relied on this feedback. Contrastingly, sports without this interaction mostly used video analysis to study their own performance rather than their opponents.

AT/IM2 describes working with a sports scientist from the VIS: We worked on a technique through breathing that in the 10 seconds before you actually shot. Your heart rate had to be on a decline. You had to be able to drop at 10 beats per minute in that 10 seconds and we worked out through breathing, exactly how to do it. I think it was world-breaking. I shot so many targets with a heart rate monitor on. 10 seconds, the 10 seconds before you shoot, is the only time you need to be concentrating or getting your breathing right. You really concentrate on hearing yourself exhale and just by doing that it distracts your mind from the pressure of the competition. When you're under extreme pressure you tend to think negative thoughts, when you're concentrating on your breathing it just puts this little man in your head to sleep because he's got nothing to do. If he's concentrating and listening to your breathing, he's not telling you you're about to miss the next target and you're not going to win the Olympic final.

Physical Therapies & Recovery Physical therapies and recovery strategies were heavily utilised, in particular: massage, sleep and water-immersion therapy, which was mostly in the form of ice-baths and hot/cold showers and was practiced by all athletes except one who competed in an ocean-water sport. All athletes attributed improved recovery, decreased muscle-stiffness and less injuries to the practice, some also reported ice-baths induced a meditative state that put them ‘in the moment’.

PI/TM1 shares: One thing that I took from ice-baths is the importance of being present. If you're going to get an Ice-bath, don’t put your toe in it to feel if it's cold. It's an ice-bath, it's going to be cold. When you immerse yourself in the present and you feel that blood run through your veins, it's a special thing to be so in tune just being you and going, “Wow, feel those pins and needles splash over me, feel what this is like to be here, yup,” By doing that mentally it connects you physically what you're doing and, again, you mentally get recharged.


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Interpersonal Relationships Having the Right Support Team All athletes mentioned a significant person in their life who was influential and supportive in their sporting career. This person varied from a parent, team-mate, partner or someone within the athletes’ support team (coach, masseur or physiotherapist), yet they were all highly valued for their ability to share a laugh and helped the athletes unwind, relax and feel removed from the pressures of training and competition.

AIF4 described the influence of a talent scout: I felt like if I just rubbed him I'd feel better. Just standing next to him I felt so much confidence. So, sports psych, partner, scout and my coach, they were the four people I would say that I needed.

ATF5 commented: Our physio is the only female in the program. We think there should be another female but there's not at the moment, so it's quite refreshing having her.

The Athlete-Coach Partnership Athletes reported the most valued support from their coach was not technical but inter-personal and relational (e.g., emotional support and encouragement, open and honest communication and strong rapport). Some also acknowledged the paramount importance of their coach’s technical ability.

AT/IM2 talks about the role of a coach being more than just technical: The coach that I had in my best years was an Italian guy, he was an Olympic medallist in his own right and fully understood coaching doesn’t stop until you go to bed at night. Because he'd become a part of your life, he's nearly a part of your family. Then they become good coaches and they become a dual role of a coach and a manager. I think at the top level, you don’t need a technical coach. We've worked out what we need to do. It's what’s going on in your brain will determine how you shoot. And that's often all you need, distract you, just keep you calm, keep you calculated, give you confidence.

PI/TM2 shares: He’d never coached anyone with a disability, so he probably didn't know where to start except I know a friend had the discussion with him about if he would take me on, and he was like, “Oh, I never had anyone with a disability.” And she was like, “… just treat him like another athlete. He'll be fine.” And once he did that, once he made that conscious decision that if I was down on the ground, about to spew and I had another rep to go, and if it was another athlete in the squad he'd kind of kick him on the leg a bit and say, “Hey, get up, you've got another one to go,” once he kind of did that with me I was like, “Yes, great,” because the last thing I wanted was a coach that would say, “Oh yeah, but it's okay, you've got one arm.”

Lifestyle Practices Nutrition & Hydration Only one athlete was in a weight division sport, yet most were conscious of maintaining a ‘competition weight’. All athletes saw a Nutritionist or Sports Dietician at some point during their career. Despite this, the area of diet, performance-nutrition and hydration practices varied. Athletes who competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, shared a deeper understanding of nutritional demands, which was reflected in the complexity of their diet regimen. Other athletes who had competed earlier, were under the guidance of nutritionists who recommended strategies that have now been expanded and/or superseded. Other athletes either forged their own path, seeking to go against the norm of nutritional advice of the day, or had little nutritional understanding. Athletes with long careers (e.g., over 20-years), noted stark changes in their nutritional knowledge over their career.


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All athletes revealed that they drank water for hydration and most didn’t drink coffee. Consumption of sports drinks varied; some never consumed them, some had them regularly and others only drank them on competition days.

AT/IM2 says: The best was sending a dietitian/nutritionist on tours. They used to do all the urine tests for hydration, which was important because you're out in the hot weather. Every morning and every night we did a urine test. I was always conscious of my competing weight. I always tried to be the same weight. The guns are made for you're a certain weight and when you lose or put on weight the first thing you do is put it on your face, and that makes a big difference. If you lose it quickly, your face changes and it changes where your gun shoots. These are $40,000 guns made so it shoots perfectly every time. AT/IM1 was very organised in his meal preparation: As a general rule, I would make sure my plate was colourful. A combination of good carbs with protein and fat. I ate more fat than what a lot of the other athletes were eating. Like seeds and nuts. I kind of disagreed with the high-carb thing, refined carbohydrates from pastas and rice. I want to sustain energy, so that's what I tried to do with diet. Listening to my body.

Utilisation of Complementary Therapies Having regular massage was deemed critical to an athletes’ preparation due to the physical benefits and as a means of mentally debriefing with the trusted masseur. Other complementary practices relied upon included: plyometrics, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, osteopathy, kinesiology, chiropractic, naturopathy and nutrition.

AIF 1: I realised that my behaviors were as inconsistent as my mindset. I'd be bitching about my weight and then I'd reward myself for a workout with apple pie or cheesecake. I didn't have enough discipline. I had a naturopath. I met him after I won my sixth world title, he's played an instrumental role in keeping me alive. A lot of herbal remedies. Musashi, Magnesium. Vitamin C. Vitamin B.

Importance of Time Out All athletes had their own way of switching off, ‘escaping’ and creating balance between rest and relaxation and the rigors of training and competition. These strategies included taking a bath, shopping, catching up with friends, interacting with nature, watching movies, reading and listening to music.

AIF4 described how she would relax: Movies and get into bed … You're watching a movie – it's escapism, you're lying down, you're warm, you actually feel safe, not dying right now. You're not going to kill yourself going off a jump at 70K an hour.

The four domains identified, Psychology, Performance, Relationships, Lifestyle, are

multi-dimensional, dynamic and individualised. They are also strongly interrelated

and have significant overlap. It is suggested that podium performance is best

supported when all domains are integrated and contribute positively to the whole.

This is represented in the generated conceptual model presented in Figure 5.1. The

complementary and dynamic nature of these dimensions is depicted by the juncture

in the centre where the domains overlap. The nature of this overlap is dynamic, and

this model does not attempt to represent relative contributions but rather implies that


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if any one of these domains is not present then performance will be compromised. It

is the utilisation of these attributes when needed by way of a tilt which can lean in

many directions and is dependent upon the ability of the athlete to shift focus within

these domains. This skill, becoming sub-conscious with practice and experience and

thus creating an equilibrium of balancing between a group of important principles

and practices.

While the domains identified as important for elite performance are distinct and serve

specific needs, the psychological domain provides the context for linking all other

domains. Psychological attributes, skills and strategies are instrumental in

coordinating all aspects of life including lifestyle practices, interpersonal relationships

and performance strategies. For example, the current sample of champions viewed

the psychological domain as vital to provide the vision of the desired performance

outcome within both a training and competition context as indicated by their use of

visualisation and mental imagery by all participating champions. The psychological

domain is also required to ensure the intrinsic motivation, self-confidence,

dominance, resilience, work-ethic, self-regulation, positive-mindset, determination

and mental resilience necessary to endure the training regimens and implement

effective coping strategies for dealing with setback.

The performance domain ensures athletes are adequately prepared for elite

performance by maximising training and performance opportunities, ensuring

adequate competition exposure and effective utilisation of sports-science and sports-

medicine strategies, along with maximising physical-therapy and recovery. Recovery

strategies such as massage, water-immersion therapy (ice-baths) and optimising

sleep may be of particular importance and were widely used by champion athletes.

Whilst there was strong commonality in adopted practices and strategies, some

practices such as the use of video analysis and studying opponents, were dependent

on the individual and/or the type of sport. Such athlete specific-findings suggest a

need for athlete development frameworks to recognise and cater for individualised

approaches.

The relationship domain, which includes having an effective athlete/coach

partnership and the right support-team, is necessary to provide support and


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encouragement as well as to help athletes unwind, relax and feel removed from the

pressures of training and competition, thereby maintaining adequate balance in and

out of sport. Athletes all mentioned their reliance on social support and someone

with whom they could laugh with and de-stress, and who helped make them feel like

a regular person. For some, it was the massage therapist, for others it was a coach

who simply asked about their day and shifted their focus to regular human issues

other than sport.

The lifestyle domain is required to ensure athletes’ physical wellbeing, sustenance

and robustness through appropriate nutrition and hydration, utilisation of

complementary therapies and practices and taking time-out to relax and obtain

perspective. The lifestyle domain is important during both training and non-training

periods and helps to ensure career longevity and sustain the appropriate

psychological attributes, interpersonal relationships and performance factors.

Figure 5.1. Contributors to World Class Performance


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5.5. Discussion

5.5.1. Overview

Lifestyle is ‘what we do with our lives’ and for an athlete, this is all-encompassing

and includes training, work, entertainment and is inclusive of identity, self-image, and

values. While current literature on elite athletic-performance stresses the importance

of socio-developmental, physical, sport-specific skill and psychological factors, the

interviews with elite athletes in this investigation suggest that championship

performance also requires a particular way of life that integrates mindset,

performance, relationships and lifestyle factors and supports the athlete in navigating

their way through life’s challenges and the challenges of their sport.

Utilising a qualitative approach and a world-class sample of athletes, the findings of

the present study expands on the existing literature and understanding of the athlete

profile required to reach a world-class level and achieve and sustain international

sporting success, albeit with individualistic nuances. The findings confirm the critical

importance of an athlete’s psychological profile, in particular their strong self-

regulatory skills in coordinating and maximising their learning and achievement in

and out of the sporting arena and also highlights the perceived psychological and

physical benefit of recovery strategies such as ice-baths.

It is well accepted that autonomy-supportive behaviours have a beneficial impact on

athletes intrinsic and self-determined extrinsic motivation89 and are important

determinants of performance and persistence.89 The ability of coaches to facilitate

and empower the needs of the athlete’s own autonomy and competence increases

their potential for improved performance and enhanced motivation,89 and honest and

open communication between this particular dyad, fosters more effective

collaboration.147 Furthermore, social relationships promote health and wellbeing.148

In particular, the adolescent brain (note that many athletes’ competitive phase is

during adolescence), relies on complex social connections outside the family unit to

form an independent sense of identity.149 150 The quality and quantity of an

individuals’ social connections during adolescence are linked to their behaviour and

mental health.148 Fletcher and Sarkar13 incorporate this into their model which

encompasses a multidimensional psychological profile coupled with perceived social


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support which allows elite athletes to negotiate and manage the realistic stressors

they will face in high performance sport. Social support is seen as stress-buffering

and integral to building resilience.13 85 Based on interpersonal relationships emerging

as a major theme for these high performers, it is critical that we place importance on

facilitating and valuing the relationships they form amongst peers, team-mates,

coaches, family and support staff throughout the elite athlete journey.

Extending on existent athlete development frameworks, key lifestyle practices were

identified that were integral and intertwined, complementing conventional

performance strategies. At a practical level, these findings have promising

implications specific to how and when tailored education should commence specific

to these recognised performance and lifestyle strategies to ensure they are utilised

effectively. And how, at a high-performance level, the athlete’s voice and empowered

decision making can directly inform an individualistic and effective approach for

refining athletic preparation and performance.

A personal wellness plan as suggested by Anderson38 which is inclusive of athlete

lifestyle factors as a whole, and involves nutrition, recovery, sports psychology, injury

prevention and promotes interpersonal connections, may be the best way to provide

a comprehensive and overarching framework to support and develop the athlete as a

whole person and prove the best outcomes for resilience, self-regulation, podium

performances and longevity on the world stage and beyond.

5.5.2. Limitations and Strengths

A limitation of this study is the small sample of subjects from different sports and it is

therefore not possible to make conclusions about any specific sport or make

meaningful conclusions about differences between athletes. It is the firm intent of the

researchers to further explore and confirm the relative impact of the emergent

themes from this study, utilising a customised survey tool administered to a large

participant sample that includes varying types of athletes including Paralympic

athletes from a pre-elite to an elite level.


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The fact that the sporting achievements of many of these athletes spanned over two

decades, further raises the likelihood of generational differences in education and

awareness, technology, culture, sports science and sports medicine support,

nutrition and training methods, along with differences in self-disclosure, self-

awareness, subjectivity and recall of key events and their reflections, that may be

impacted upon with the passing of time.

The strengths of this study are the world-class quality of the sample. The main

researcher herself is an Olympic gold-medallist, this greatly facilitated trust leading to

generosity and honesty of insight by interviewees and was a methodological

advantage in effectively ‘tapping into the athlete voice’.40 However, care was taken to

ensure separateness between researcher and participant in order to maintain

objectivity and trustworthiness.135 Another notable strength is the inclusion of the

experiences and perspectives of world-class Paralympic athletes.

5.5.3. Conclusions

Our findings from the perspectives offered by the current champion sample,

confirmed that the athletic profile and support required to reach and sustain podium

level performance is multi-dimensional, integrated and individualised and that

psychological factors are paramount. Championship performance is most likely to

occur at the intersection of psychological prowess, interpersonal support,

performance strategies and lifestyle. Understanding more about the role and impact

of these key factors is critical to informing current athlete and system level support.

An integrated approach encompassing these four dimensions can potentially be

used to inform the development of a valid and reliable screening tool that assesses a

developing athlete’s competency in each of these domains and is a pre-cursor to

tailored education and intervention that can maximise an athlete’s longevity and

performance success.


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Table 5.5. What are the new findings?

What are the new findings?

• Champion athletes attribute their psychological attributes as the major factor contributing to their success.

• Championship performance requires a particular way of life that integrates

mindset, performance, lifestyle and relationship factors.

• High-performance strategies include the use of honed mental rehearsal skills and recovery practices.

• Championship performance is likely to occur at the intersection of a strong

psychological profile, interpersonal support, effective performance strategies, and lifestyle. The utilisation of these attributes when needed are dependent upon the ability of the athlete to shift focus within these domains by way of a tilt which can lean in many directions. This skill is adaptive through self-regulation and becomes habitual with accumulated experience and exposure.

Table 5.6. How might it impact on clinical practice in the near future?

How might it impact on clinical practice in the near future?

• Specific guidelines for athlete education to ensure these performance and lifestyle strategies are utilised effectively, particularly at the pre-elite and elite level.

• Facilitating greater education for coaches and support staff, in the area of

interpersonal skills and rapport with athletes.

• Athlete frameworks honing strategies to strengthen and facilitate interpersonal relationships within the athlete’s support network.

• Inclusion of lifestyle factors within athlete development frameworks to guide

system level implementation.


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Chapter 6: Supportive Interpersonal Relationships – A key

Component to High-Performance Sport

Introduction Interpersonal relationships were a key theme to emerge from the LEAP interviews.

An editorial piece was written to explore this further and develop the new model:

Strengthening interpersonal relationships in elite sport – a visual summary.

This was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and is presented in the

format of the accepted manuscript: Burns, L., Weissensteiner, JR., & Cohen, M.

Supportive interpersonal relationships: a key component to high- performance sport.

British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2019; 53(22):1386-1389 doi:10.1136/bjsports-

2018-100312. See Appendix 6 for the published version.


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Supportive interpersonal relationships –

A key component to high-performance sport

Social health determinants, including human social-connections are critical to sustain

health and wellbeing,151 and are central to elite sporting performance. Athletes live in

high-pressure environments and supportive relationships with coaches, support staff

and/or others, are vital to both athletic performance and wellbeing. Our study of

World, Olympic and Paralympic champions, revealed that while interpersonal

relationships are a key contributor to high performance, they are not easily

prescribed.152

Quality relationships can induce positive physiological changes that improve

adaption to stress and enhance performance.153 The ability of relationships to

mitigate stressful experiences is highlighted by Coan et al. who found access to

social resources altered physiological and neuronal responses to a threat or

stress.153 This study, which used fMRI scans to document neuronal responses of

women confronted with the threat of electrical shock, found high-quality relationships

reduced threat-related brain activation. This is consistent with research that suggests

quality relationships attenuate physiological responses such as cardiovascular

arousal, cortisol and glucocorticoid levels, reduce threat-related brain activity and

enhance general health and longevity.151 154

6.1. Social Scaffolds Support Athletes

An athlete’s progression and transition from novice to expert is greatly influenced by

their social environment including peer-interaction and culture.116 Like the general

population, athletes have innate needs when it comes to building relationships, and

interpersonal relationships can shape developmental experiences and perspectives

for either better or worse. The stress associated with the highs and lows of

competition, negative chance events (i.e., injury, illness etc), and the typical

demands of high-performance sport (travel, funding, juggling a dual-career,24 non-

selection, self-perceived poor performance, losses, relegation and the impact of

social media), can be alleviated by a strong social scaffold. In contrast, non-


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accidental violence and maltreatment in sport, which includes psychological

(bullying, harassment, ostracism), sexual and physical violence, is more prevalent in

elite athletes and can lead to a host of negative mental health and wellbeing

outcomes.33

While fostering supportive interpersonal relationships within high performance sport

is important, it raises many questions such as:

How can young and emerging athletes be empowered to establish strong

interpersonal relationships that foster stability, trust, and confidence, and support

their personal and athletic development?

How can athletes build and establish secure relationships when there may be power

differentials or differing priorities between athletes and support staff such as coaches

and administrators?

6.2. Having A Laugh

Facilitating positive relationships goes beyond the relationship with a coach and/or

parent.152 Our research shows elite level athletes exhibit strong autonomy and self-

regulation and are highly selective regarding their support network. Interpersonal

relationships that allow athletes to laugh and have time out from the pressures of

high-stakes competition were particularly valued and came in many forms including

with friends and team-mates, or with experts such as a masseurs, physiotherapists

or coaches, who expand on a purely technical or professional relationship. Our

findings revealed high performance athletes felt more supported by coaches who

related to them in an empathetic way e.g., shared a meal or asked about their day,

than coaches who merely communicated technical knowledge. In addition, whilst

parental support was highly valued by some athletes, others preferred to limit

parental contact, especially around big events. (See Table 5.1. AT/IM1 & AIF4)

An integrated approach including lifestyle, competition and training along with a

supportive social network is key to building a successful environment for athletes to

flourish both on and off the field.24 151 Our research found highly successful elite


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athletes considered human-connection and being able to be relaxed and be present

with someone, or to have a laugh or a chat, was an important factor in their

success.152 (See Table 6.1) While the need for technical coaching expertise varies

along the athlete pathway, the importance of strong interpersonal relationships

remains paramount throughout the sporting journey. Therefore, while dedication to

training practices and utilisation of sports-science and sports-medicine are integral to

performance, there may be an undue emphasis on skill or expertise, when a more

powerful interaction could be as simple as asking ‘how are you?’ These

communication skills however, can be the catalyst for building supportive

interpersonal relationships.

6.3. Creating A High Performance Culture

The ability of interpersonal relationships to attenuate stress responses153 154 is critical

to achieving sustained success in the elite sporting domain152 (See Figure 6.1). If we

look at an athlete as a whole person, there is a fundamental duty of care to ensure

they are supported to become their best, most resilient self, both on and off the field.

Athletes therefore need to be encouraged to seek interpersonal support that evolves

as they move along their development pathway. An effective support network

requires a team of people who embrace a pro-active and collaborative approach to

performance management and maintain a culture of integration and open

communication. The support network also requires clear roles, responsibilities and

strategies to manage high-pressure environments and respect the athlete’s

perspective, knowledge and wisdom. In addition to professional psychological

services, the use of techniques such as motivational interviewing155 and solution

oriented counselling offer a framework for all support staff (including masseurs,

physiotherapists and other service providers) to develop collaborative,

compassionate, professional relationships that support athlete autonomy.

6.4. Overcoming Barriers

Common barriers to the creation of supportive networks, may include a lack of

integration, collaboration, alignment or supportive team culture.40 Sporting

organisations are in a key position to help overcome these barriers by ensuring


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effective interdisciplinary case management of athletes. This may involve educating

service providers on how they can build on their technical expertise and contribute to

athlete wellbeing. Preceding this, encouragement of self-regulatory strategies,

personal wellness plans38 and dedicated mental fortitude training24 with emerging

athletes and their coaches and parents can facilitate the long and stressful journey to

the podium. Creating supportive interpersonal relationships is not a passive process,

but rather a dynamic interplay which evolves and grows as the athlete moves along

their development pathway. After all, athletes are not machines, they are human

beings who strive to have healthy, socially engaging and rewarding relationships

while also succeeding at their chosen sport.

Table 6.1. Athlete representative quotes and summary of number of Olympic Games attended, along

with gold medals won

Representative Athletes Quotes KEY A = Able bodied P = Paralympic T = Team sport I = Individual sport T/I = Team & Individual F = Female M = Male AIF 1 World titles x7 I made sure that my friends at home didn't surf. So I always had balance and the person I was on tour, I didn't have to bring that home all the time. Support It started with my dad giving me the freedom to go off and travel the world as a 17-year-old fresh out of high school. Dad also taught me the importance of making friends and asking for help and also adapting to change and the ability to sleep on couches. My personal trainer invested his heart and soul into my professional development, and then surrounding myself with world champions. My surf coach who I started working with in the mid-nineties, in ’95, who I still work with today. And then my partners, my boyfriends and my husband who are incredibly supportive and patient. My ex-partner mitigated a lot of my distractions and was able to identify several flaws in my technique that he made me work on daily. AT/IM2 Olympic Games attended: Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 - x1 Gold, Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, London 2012 World Cup x5 Gold, World Championship x4 Gold The masseur was just as important as anyone in the team. You're favouring one side of your body all the time. My right side was built up far greater than my left all the time. I would have rather have had the sports masseur than the coach some days because the coach became a team manager and the sports masseur was a part of the team and a friendly guy. We always sent the coach—if I had to pick one, I'd pick the massage therapist.


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Coaches and Cultural Differences It was hard because the shooting team forever was changing coaches. The sports commission kept finding Russian coaches for us that have got no people skills. I mean, the Russian coaches that they gave us, they look at their clock and at 5 o'clock you don’t see them again. The coach that I had in my best years was an Italian guy and he was an Olympic medallist in his own right at the ’84 Olympics and fully understood coaching doesn’t stop until you go to bed at night, and because he'd become a part of your life and you're talking about cars and boats and women, not just shooting. It's sort of sad because the coach isn't really a technical coach. He's nearly a part of your family, and then they become good coaches and they become a dual role of a coach and a manager. But I think at the top level, you don’t need a technical coach. We've worked out what we need to do. It's what’s going on in your brain will determine how you shoot. But a good coach that I found was someone that can sit with you at dinner and talk about something else other than what’s about to happen the next day. And that's often all you need, distract you, just keep you calm, keep you calculated, give you confidence. The high-performance manager we had at the Atlanta Olympics, I didn't realize how good he was for our team until he'd gone but he was a very calming influence with me. I remember talking to him the day before the Olympics—this was the high-performance manager, not the coach—and he just said, “You're just doing things so well. You just look so good out there in that last training session.” Now, I don’t even know if he saw me shoot. I've got no idea if he even saw but he went out of his way to come down out of the grandstand to say it and he got me believing, “Yeah, you're right. I am doing it.” But the Russian coach, he would never do that. He'd be on the bus back at the village and he wouldn't be there to actually wait around till you put all your gear away. They're on the first bus out of there and they watch their clocks and its sort of sad. I can honestly say that we never have eaten dinner once from 2008 until 2014 with the Russian coach, not a single team member, but every coach prior to that, that was nearly mandatory. He didn't have to, but you wanted him to. And that's a really terrible thing to say, but he doesn’t want to socialize with us. AT/IM1 Olympic Games attended: Sydney 2000 x3 Gold, Athens 2004 x2 Gold World Championships x11 Gold Support In the swim team at the time, we were all kind of like mates growing up and quite a few of us were jokers, so it was quite light, and in some of the harder times it kind of broke what would be a stunned silence as well. And you know, we're not saving lives, so it shouldn't be serious. When asked about who provided support AT/IM1 responded: I didn't really seek it. That was part of my problem. . . . I struggled to find someone that I felt was a peer that I could go to. So I struggled a bit with that during my career, but there were definitely people that supported me and assisted me whether it was my squad or my family, my coach, my friends, but no one knew everything that I was going through. I never would unload everything to one person in particular. Parents Mum helped me prepare homecooked meals. She came around on a Monday and would make something that would last in the fridge in case I'm too tired to make something…also, your parents are supportive. It doesn’t matter if you come home grumpy. They understand. All of those things I think help. Coach When I changed coaches, I started enjoying swimming again and I knew it was something that I actually cared about. By no means, you know, neither of my coaches were perfect coaches. They weren't. But that was the right coach for me then. I needed more kind of support. I knew what to do in training. I just needed someone to support me through that. I didn't really need a huge stick. It was more I needed the carrot to motivate me at that stage.


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AIF4 Olympic Games attended: Lillehammer 1994, Nagano 1998, Salt Lake City 2002, Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010 World titles x9 Coach My coach for the last three years…he wasn’t employed really as a technical coach because I was more successful than he ever was in his career as ex-athlete. He didn't even have a great technical knowledge but what he was – he was fun, and he was light. At this point in my career I was getting older and had less energy. He was that funny, upbeat guy who made me laugh…we just laughed the whole way through the last three years, and I'm telling you I needed it. It was bloody terrible. He would sing songs, he was so funny. As bad as it was and what I was going through, he made it so enjoyable. I'd be crying one minute, and he would be there being so funny that it didn't matter anymore. He was good fun. Support The talent scout who found me, if he came to a competition, I wouldn't even stand next to the coach. I'd go and stand next to him. It was like I felt if I just rubbed him I'd feel better. I always stood next to him. Just standing next to him I felt so much confidence. Family My mum would either worry too much and say things on the phone that…just, “Mom, why would you say that? I'm trying to compete.” Like, “You know, darling, do you think that that leg will stay in? Do you think it might fall off on the end of the jump?” So I just didn't call her that much. …So she could be watching, hmm, I'm doing a triple twisting triple somersault, highest degree of difficulty in the world, and she’d say: “Well, it's nice darling,” and sometimes it annoyed me. PI/TM1 Paralympic Games attended: Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 World Championships, x 1 Gold I think my success came from absolutely loving what I was doing. I love being around likeminded people. Getting out of bed at 5 o'clock in the morning to go to the gym, that's hard work, but when you get there and you know other athletes are going to be there and you go, “Oh yes, that’s awesome.” Everyone brings that same energy and for me that’s is a massive driver. Being in a space where you want to be surrounded by likeminded people, anything can be achieved. And if you enjoy it, game on. When asked about having someone who made him laugh PI/TM1 responded: To be honest, in most teams, it was me. I think humour absolutely plays a part and I think that's why I enjoy that role, that responsibility because it allowed other people just to destress and not be focused on being so serious. I mean, we're not saving lives. We're not at a doctors’ conference, not in the theatre. We're playing sport. So yeah, I definitely think it's important. When I travelled, that was incentive, to be around the group that were laughing. It just turned out that a lot of the time it was me. But just being around other people that shared a view that life is worth living.


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Figure 6.1. Strengthening Interpersonal Relationships in Elite Sport – A Visual Summary


88

Chapter 7: A Survey of Lifestyle and Performance Factors

in Mastery and Pre-Elite Athletes

7.1. Introduction

In the aforementioned studies, the importance of a complement of lifestyle factors

were investigated with mastery level high-performance athletes and the inclusion of

such considerations within athlete development constructs and frameworks have

previously been addressed. In this chapter the awareness and implementation of

lifestyle factors was surveyed amongst a broad range of athletes who were

established at both a pre-elite (emerging) and elite (high performance) level within

their sport, contributing or in other words underpinning levels on the athlete pathway

for World or Olympic and Paralympic level. The purpose of this study was to

ascertain the level of awareness, knowledge and practical application of identified

lifestyle factors from the first study by these groups, and then reflect on the

implications for supporting the future education and support of emerging level

athletes.

7.2. Abstract

Background: Success at the elite level in sport is often attributed to physical

prowess, technical skill, and mental attitude. However, underpinning these factors

are various lifestyle and social influences that further contribute to successful

performance, yet may be ignored when designing athlete development programs.

Objectives: This investigation aimed to provide insight into the use of support

services and lifestyle practices of Olympic, Paralympic, National, and state-level

Australian athletes. A secondary objective was to assess any association of the

prevalence of these practices across levels of athletic achievement (International

Podium (IP) / Non-Podium (n-IP)), in order to inform an industry approach to athlete

development.


89

Methods: An online mixed-methods survey was carried out to examine the

perceptions of support services, knowledge, strategies, and lifestyle practices of 135

Australian athletes across 25 Olympic sports, at state level and above.

Results: IP and n-IP athletes perceived psychological skills and attributes, along with

strong interpersonal relationships vital to their success. Recovery practices rated

highly, especially amongst IP athletes. Athletes wanted greater knowledge,

mentoring, and autonomy earlier in their careers.

Conclusions: Results suggest high-level performance requires education and

development of psychological skills and attributes, along with support services

implemented early in the athlete development pathway. Creating system-level

implementation may assist in generating an environment to facilitate repeated

podium performances, retain athletes in high-performance sport for longer,

encourage human-flourishing and smooth transitions for retiring athletes.

Keywords: Athlete, Olympic, Paralympic, Lifestyle

7.3. Introduction

The pursuit of excellence requires elite athletes to have an intense, myopic focus,

yet they must also contend with the demands of daily life.38 Athlete wellbeing and

performance may be influenced by family, friends, professional and personal-

development programs, spirituality and social-connections.13 38 Strengthening life-

skills is essential for developing resilience,38 and those overseeing athlete

development must maintain a duty-of-care to ensure the wellbeing of athletes

throughout their sporting life and beyond.

International sporting bodies advocate a holistic approach to the athletic profile and

environmental and system level factors required for world-class sporting

performance,13 yet key lifestyle, relational, training, and performance practices are

commonly overlooked. Our preliminary research aimed to explore the contribution,

interplay, and impact of lifestyle and psychological factors in a sample of world-class,

champion athletes. From the LEAP interviews, four main themes emerged:


90

Psychological Attributes, Interpersonal Relationships, Performance Strategies and

Lifestyle Practices.123 This further confirmed current literature that the athletic profile

and support required to reach and sustain podium level performance is multi-

dimensional, integrated and individualised with psychological factors being

paramount.

The aim in this study was to further understand the role and impact of these key

factors, which are critical to informing current athlete and system level support. This

was achieved by surveying a broader sample (variety of sports, broader age range,

and achievement levels - from state to international podium). The findings of this

study can be used to inform an integrated approach which encompasses these four

dimensions, and can potentially be used to inform the development of a valid and

reliable screening tool that assesses a developing athlete’s competency in each of

these domains and serve as a pre-cursor to tailored education and intervention that

can maximise an athlete’s longevity and performance success. In order to provide

recommendations on future education and implementation strategies, our aim was to

gain a deeper, empirical understanding of the utilisation and impact of key lifestyle

and athlete practices from across the athlete pathway incorporating a large sample

We previously explored the contribution, interplay, and impact of lifestyle and

psychological factors in world-class athletes and identified four themes: (i)

Psychological Attributes, (ii) Interpersonal Relationships, (iii) Performance Strategies

and (iv) Lifestyle Practices.152 This suggested achieving world-class podium-level

performance is multi-dimensional, integrated and individualised with psychological

factors being paramount.152 156 These themes were therefore integrated into the

structure of the survey.

7.4. Aims

To gain a deep, empirical understanding of the utilisation and perceived impact of

key lifestyle, relational, and support practices of athletes across a variety of sports at

different stages of their development pathway. This included the quantity and quality

of lifestyle practices (e.g., recovery, sleep practices, support and interpersonal

relationships, extra-curricular activities, relaxation and psychological skills and


91

attributes) and commensurate awareness and knowledge, across the athlete

pathway. As well as assessing any differences between International Podium (IP)

and Non n-IP athletes, able-bodied (AB) athletes and athletes with disabilities (AD);

male and female athletes, and sports in which winning was determined by cgs

(centimetres, grams and seconds) and non-cgs sports.22

7.5. Methods

7.5.1. Instrument – The Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers (LEAP) Online Survey

A mixed methods approach was taken to capture a comparative analysis using

quantitative research along with qualitative methodology to expand on initial

investigations152 informed by grounded theory, to best engage the athletes’ voice123

and explore the perspectives of the athlete sample.

An online survey using QualtricsXM software included 35 questions with four written

response questions, and was designed to: (i) collect data on the type, frequency and

quality of lifestyle practices (recovery, sleep practices, support and interpersonal

relationships, extra-curricular activities, relaxation and psychological skills/attributes);

(ii) determine athlete knowledge and awareness of the potential impact of support

services and lifestyle practices; and (iii) compare athletes with different

demographics and sporting achievement. The survey was informed by the major

themes identified in previous research.152 To ensure reliability, a pilot survey was

completed by five retired elite athletes who competed at senior international level.

Each participant completed the pilot twice and was assessed for reliability

(individually and collectively), to refine the line of questioning and the functionality of

the survey.

7.5.2. Ethical Considerations

In order to protect the rights of the participants and the information which they

provide, ethical considerations were examined by researchers.127 As per

recommendations from the RMIT HREC, researchers communicated clearly to

participants, via the PIS, that participation was voluntary and they could withdraw at


92

any time. See Appendix 7. Participants were informed of the study’s purpose and

informed that no identifying information about them would be used in the results of

the study. It was deemed by the researchers and the RMIT HREC that there were no

serious threats posed to any participants or their wellbeing. No sensitive or deeply

personal information was asked of them during the survey. The study was approved

by RMIT University’s Human Research Ethics Committee (SEHAPP 72-18). See

Appendix 8.

7.5.3. Recruitment, Participants and Procedures

Australian athletes in Olympic and Paralympic sports, who competed at state level or

above in the past 10 years, were invited to participate. Purposive sampling was used

for recruitment, participation was voluntary, and only researchers had access to the

data.

Participants were recruited by receiving an email from one of the following

organisations: National Sporting Organisations (NSO’s), State Institute and

Academies of Sport, State Sporting Organisation, Australian Olympic and

Paralympic Committee. This email contained an invitation to be a part of the study, a

participant information form, and a link to the online survey. A social media campaign

(Facebook, Instagram) was released to raise awareness for the survey and

encourage participation and compliance. Athletes aged over 18 years were emailed

this information from their relevant sporting body (listed above), whilst for athletes

aged less than 18 years, the email was sent to their parents/guardians with a request

to forward the information and survey link on the athlete. The forwarding of this

information by the parent/guardian, was deemed to indicate that they had consented

to their child's participation in the study. A Participation Information Statement (PIS)

was provided at the beginning of the survey for athletes to gain full understanding of

the survey. See appendices 7, 8 and 9 for NSO information sheet, letter of support

from the AOC and letter of invitation to athletes.

For athletes under the age of 18, the email containing the PIS and link to the survey

was sent to their parents. The following statement was contained in the email: Dear

Parent, Your child has been invited to be involved in this survey as they meet the


93

criteria of having achieved State or National level their sport. Please read the

Participant Information Statement regarding this survey. If you consent to your child

being involved, please forward this email to them. By forwarding this email, you are

giving consent for your child to participate. See appendix 12 for complete survey.

Minimal personal and identifying information was asked for in the survey (age, sex).

However, it is acknowledged that in a few cases the sporting achievements reported

by the athlete, such as individual medals in international competition in a specific

sport, may enable the researchers to identify the respondent. No identifying

information was presented in publications or reports.

Anonymity and confidentiality were assured and no identifying information shared

was used publicly. The overall results are set to be published in the scientific

literature and no individual will be identifiable from the publication. A summary of the

published results will be available on the survey website. Once participants

submitted their information researchers would not be able to identify individual

responses. There is a chance that an athlete could be identified by the researchers if

they have a significant milestone, such as reporting winning an international medal in

an individual sport. However, no identifying information is published in the results.

Within the survey, the FTEM (Foundation, Talent, Elite, Mastery) developmental

framework18 was used to classify achievement levels:

M = Multiple Senior International Podium

E2 = Single Senior International Podium

E1 = Senior International (no medal)

T4 = Junior International / Senior State/ Senior National

T3 = Practicing/Achieving

See Appendix 13.

The ‘Foundation’ level athletes were omitted from the inclusion criteria, as this

category did not meet the objectives of the study. Athletes meeting the criteria were

categorised into two groups: (i) M and E2 athletes who had achieved an International


94

Podium (IP) and (ii) E1, T4 and T3 athletes who had not (yet) achieved an

International Podium (n-IP). Additional classifications were: Able-Bodied (AB), and

Athletes with a Disability (AwD).

7.5.4. Data collection

Participation involved the athlete clicking on the link to the online survey and

completing the questionnaire. This process took the participant approximately twenty

minutes to complete.

Data were collected via Qualtrics Software and initially stored in Qualtrics. Once all

data were collected, the data were transferred and stored on the RMIT server. All

study data initially stored on Qualtrics were expunged.

7.6. Analysis

Once the survey was closed, data was exported from Qualtrics (Qualtrics Labs Inc.)

into SPSS (v 25) and cleaned. Cleaning involved: removing all participants who did

not meet inclusion criteria. A total of 331 responses were recorded. One-hundred

and ninety-six were excluded due to not meeting the inclusion criteria (e.g., not an

Olympic sport, or competed more than 10 years ago), incomplete responses, or

duplicates, leaving 135 for analysis. SPSS (v25) statistical software program was

used to analyse the data, with descriptive (mean and SD) and comparative (ANOVA

and t-tests) statistics being used for parametric data, with α set at p <.05, whilst

frequencies, percentages and chi-square analyses were used for categorical data.

7.6.1. Checks for statistical violations

When analysing the results for t-tests it was identified that for both the travel time

categories the SD was very large compared to the mean. In some cases the SD is

greater than the mean. Given these values cannot be negative, this suggested there

may be some ‘outliers’ with very high values, and/or the data is not normally

distributed. Minimum and maximum values along with SD were identified, anomalies

cleaned and data were then tested for a normal distribution along with sleep data.


95

7.6.2. Qualitative Data

Results for qualitative analysis (written response questions) were categorised, using

Strauss and Corbin’s method of grounded theory124 131 into headings consistent with

previous higher order themes: Performance Factors / Strategies, Psychological Skills

and Attributes, Interpersonal Relationships and Lifestyle Practices. This allowed

abstraction from practical lived experiences to concepts and propositions that explain

social interactions, habits or processes. Initial themes were extracted by sentence-

by-sentence open-coding124 131 and representative quotes were coded into emergent

higher-order themes and sub-themes consistent with initial research and allowing for

new themes to emerge.152

For the written responses, initial themes were extracted by sentence-by-sentence

open-coding124 and representative quotes were coded into emergent higher-order

themes and sub-themes consistent with initial research.152

7.7. Results

A total of 135 athletes (58 male and 77 female) were included for analysis. Twenty-

five different Olympic and Paralympic sports were represented, with combat sports

strongly represented (n = 33). All quantitative data are presented as mean ± SD,

unless otherwise stated. Statistical significance was accepted at p<0.05. The results

and findings are presented under the established themes of Performance Factors /

Strategies, Psychological Skills and Attributes, Interpersonal Relationships, and

Lifestyle Practices.


96

Table 7.1. Athlete classification, sports included in the survey along with number of athletes as per

FTEM classification and AB / AwD athletes

Sport

Achievement

Total n-IP

(E1/T4/T3) IP

(M/E2) AB AwD AB AwD

Archery

Athletics

Baseball/Softball

Beach Volleyball

Boxing

Canoe

Cycling

Diving

Fencing

Golf

Gymnastics

Hockey

Judo

Karate

Rowing

Sailing

Snow Sports

Sport Climbing

Swimming

Taekwondo

Triathlon

Water Polo

Wheelchair Basketball

Wheelchair Rugby

1

10

5

0

7

0

4

0

19

4

2

7

0

1

0

1

1

5

1

11

1

3

0

0

4

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

1

0

0

4

2

5

0

0

2

0

0

0

1

2

0

2

1

1

0

3

6

0

1

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

3

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

2

3

5

11

9

2

12

1

8

2

19

4

2

8

2

1

3

2

2

5

4

18

1

4

6

4

Total 83 10 30 12 135


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7.7.1. Performance Factors / Strategies

7.7.1.1. Daily Training Environment (DTE)

Forty-five percent of athletes described their DTE as centralised (services provided

e.g. massage, physiotherapy), 48% were de-centralised, and 7% selected ‘other’.

44% of athletes had a scholarship with a state sporting institute, 3% with a regional

academy, 15% with a professional club, and 37% checked other. 23% were M

athletes, 31% were E1/E2, and 45% were T3/T4.

7.7.1.2. Time Spent Training/Travelling (Table 7.2)

Three independent-sample t-tests were conducted to compare the training hours per

week of IP and n-IP athletes at time periods: (i) lead-up to a competition, (ii)

throughout the year, (iii) during competition. The mean training hours of IP-athletes

throughout the year and in the time leading up to competition was higher for IP-

athletes with the time spent throughout the year being statistically significantly (19.7

± 11.2 versus 14.1 ±7.7) (p = .005). Training hours during competition were not

different between groups. Time spent on international travel was significantly higher

for IP-athletes (p= < .001) while time spent on domestic travel were similar.

Factors such as male v female and AB vs AwD were not associated with any

differences in training or travel time, an exception was for hours training in the lead

up to competition, for which female athletes reported more training hours. Further

analysis using ANOVA did not reveal this difference to be associated with any other

factor. It cannot therefore be explained based on the type of sport or level of sporting

achievement.


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Table 7.2. Comparison between athlete categories for travel and training time.

Factor Category n Mean SD t p-value

Domestic Travel Time (weeks per year)

IP 40 6.2 4.9 -1.34 .182

n-IP 92 8.1 8.3 Male 57 6.4 5.6

-1.42 .158 Female 75 8.3 8.6 Able-bodied 111 7.7 7.9

0.87 .385 With disability 21 6.2 4.2

International Travel Time (weeks per year)

IP 39 10.9 7.8 3.97 < .001**

n-IP 81 5.2 7.2 Male 50 6.0 5.6


0.13 .897 With disability 20 6.8 4.7

Average training hours per week in the lead up to competition

IP 41 19.2 7.7 1.80 .074

n-IP 93 16.3 9.0 Male 58 15.4 8.5

-2.01 .046* Female 76 18.5 8.7 Able-bodied 112 17.1 8.9

.-0.23 .822 With disability 22 17.5 8.0

Average training hours per week out of competition time

IP 41 19.7 11.2 2.93 .005**

n-IP 88 14.1 7.7 Male 56 14.7 9.4


0.01 .989 With disability 21 15.9 6.3

Average training hours per week during competing

IP 40 11.7 9.2 1.21 .227

n-IP 87 9.7 7.9 Male 55 8.6 7.5

-2.09 .039* Female 72 11.7 8.7 Able-bodied 106 10.6 8.7

0.72 .475 With disability 21 9.1 6.4

Average Sleep hours per day

IP 41 7.06 1.14 -0.12 .908

n-IP 82 7.09 1.08 Male 54 6.9 1.0


0.96 .344 With disability 21 6.8 1.3

* Significant at p < .05 ** Significant p <.01


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7.7.1.3. Weight Division Practices

Around one quarter (n=35) of participants were required to make a competition

weight division (89% from combat sports). Nine athletes dropped 1-2kg below what

they considered their baseline training weight, 12 athletes dropped 5kg below

baseline, 6 athletes dropped 6-8kg below baseline, and one athlete dropped 10kg

below baseline weight. Fifteen athletes reported using a sauna to lose weight before

competing. Other weight-loss strategies included running, skipping, walking, and

sports specific exercise.

7.7.1.4. Recovery Practices (Table 7.3)

The most common recovery practices were Remedial Massage, Stretching,

Mindfulness, and Visualisation. Eight recovery practices were identified with

statistically significant differences in the prevalence of utilisation, with IP-athletes use

being higher than n-IP-athletes for: Remedial Massage, Mindfulness, Hot/Cold

Immersion, Ice-bath, Meditation, Plunge-pool, Infrared sauna, and Neuro Linguistic

Programming (NLP). Finnish sauna was significantly used more by AB-athletes, and

NLP used significantly more by AwD-athletes.


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Table 7.3. Recovery Practices: Percentage of IP and n-IP athletes, and AB and AwD athletes who

practiced these techniques and procedure, statistical comparisons made using chi-square with

contingency tables.

Recovery Practice % IP % n-IP p-value % AB % AwD p-value

Remedial Massage 95 65 0.0001** 73 85 0.13

Stretching 90 84 0.173 86 85 0.44

Mindfulness 83 62 0.010* 70 67 0.396

Visualisation 80 67 0.064 74 57 0.061

Hot/Cold Immersion 76 50 0.004* 59 55 0.358

Ice Bath 76 54 0.012* 63 55 0.252

Hot/Cold Shower 74 61 0.080 62 81 0.052

Walking 71 69 0.433 79 25 < .001**

Meditation 66 50 0.049* 58 43 0.103

Plunge Pool 59 27 0.0003** 38 35 0.401

Relaxation Massage 56 47 0.186 51 50 0.484

Yoga 51 36 0.058 44 30 0.131

Spa 46 44 0.416 50 20 0.007**

Cold Water Swimming 45 31 0.064 34 45 0.213

Pilates 37 25 0.086 28 30 0.444

Progressive Muscle Relaxation 34 37 0.396 37 29 0.226

Infrared Sauna 20 4 0.002** 11 0 0.061

Finnish Sauna 15 13 0.382 16 0 0.028*

Neuro Linguistic Programming 15 4 0.016* 4 25 0.001**

Dance 15 14 0.448 16 5 0.102

Intermittent Hypoxic Training 7 8 0.478 8 5 0.322

Floatation Tank 5 7 0.298 7 5 0.38



101

7.7.1.5. Service Providers (Table 7.4)

All athlete referrals to frequently used practitioners were via their State Institute,

except the family GP, where the referral was usually by parents. Overall, IP-athletes

had higher utilisation than n-IP-athletes for all services except for osteopathy. Of

these, there was a significant difference in the use of four service providers, with

utilisation by IP-athletes being greater for Massage Therapist; Dietician/Nutritionist;

Sports Medicine Doctor; and Sports Psychologist. Chiropractors and Naturopaths

were used significantly more by AB-athletes than AwD-athletes. Sports

Psychologists were used significantly more by females than males.


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Table 7.4. Athletes utilisation of service providers, their perceived effectiveness and referrals, comparisons made using chi-square with contingency tables.

Physiotherapist Family GP Masseur Dietician

/Nutritionist Sports Psychologist

Sports Medicine Doctor

Acupuncturist Chiropractor Osteopath Myotherapist Naturopath / Herbalist

% Utilisation 91 84 83 70 55 50 30 24 21 20 13

% Effectiveness 96 94 96 88 76 77 57 45 50 45 34

Referred by (top ranking) State Institute Parent

Self / State Institute

State Institute

State Institute

State Institute Self Self / Parent Friend Friend Friend

% Utilisation by achievement classification (p-value)

IP: 95 n-IP: 89 (0.113)

IP: 88 n-IP: 82 (0.217)

IP: 98 n-IP: 76 (0.001**)

IP: 85 n-IP: 62 (0.004**)

IP: 74 n-IP: 46 (0.002**)

IP: 76 n-IP: 38 (< 0.001**)

IP: 32 n-IP: 29 (0.370)

IP: 25 n-IP: 23 (0.230)

IP: 20 n-IP: 22 (0.411)

IP: 23 n-IP: 18 (0.278)

IP: 15 n-IP: 12 (0.335)

% Utilisation by Able-Bodied/ with a Disability (p-value)

AB: 89 AwD: 100 (0.051)

AB: 82 AwD: 95 (0.064)

AB: 83 AwD: 85 (0.421)

AB: 70 AwD: 70 (0.5)

AB: 53 AwD: 67 (0.141)

AB: 49 AwD: 60 (0.175)

AB: 28 AwD: 39 (0.174)

AB: 27 AwD: 5 (0.02*)

AB: 22 AwD: 17 (0.306)

AB: 23 AwD: 6 (0.265)

AB: 16 AwD: 0 (0.037*)

% Utilisation by gender (p-value)

Male: 54 Female: 55 (0.861)

Male: 9 Female: 12 (0.611)

Male: 42 Female: 59 (0.047*)

Male: 16 Female: 19 (0.654)

Male: 12 Female: 20 (0.282)

Male: 2 Female: 11 (0.063)

Male: 2 Female: 6 0.334()

Male: 4 Female: 10 (0.243)

Male: 2 Female: 7 (0.207)

Male: 4 Female: 13 (0.097)

Male: 0 Female: 5 (0.136)



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7.7.2. Interpersonal Relationships

7.7.2.1. Social Support and Support Network (Table 7.5)

The vast majority of all athletes (>93%) agreed that having someone in their life who

made them laugh was important to their success. The vast majority (>98%) also

attributed having people to support them during their career was important for their

success and most (>88%) said their coach’s ability to relate on a personal level was

as important as their technical ability. Importance of family members was valued

significantly higher by AwD (100%) than AB-athletes (87%).


104

Table 7.5. Support Network: importance, achievement classification (IP/n-IP), Able-Bodied/Athletes with a Disability classification, nature of the relationship and times of support

Coach Team-mate Parents Spouse/ Partner Physiotherapist Family

Members Sports Science Sports Medicine

Sports Medicine Doctor

Sports Psychologist Sibling

Non- Sporting Friend

Masseur

How important is this person in providing support? %

94 92 91 90 88 84 83 80 79 77 74 72

% Between achievement classification

IP: 100 n-IP: 93

IP: 97 n-IP: 91

IP: 97 n-IP: 88

IP: 96 n-IP: 88

IP: 97 n-IP: 84

IP: 90 n-IP: 81

IP: 94 n-IP: 76

IP: 89 n-IP: 74

IP: 89 n-IP: 73

IP: 82 n-IP: 74

IP: 90 n-IP: 68

IP: 92 n-IP: 61

% Between Able-Bodied / Athletes with Disability

AB: 97 AwD: 100

AB: 95 AwD: 100

AB: 95 AwD: 90

AB: 71 AwD: 62

AB: 84 AwD: 90

AB: 87 AwD: 100

AB: 65 AwD: 76

AB: 59 AwD: 65

AB: 63 AwD: 62

AB: 73 AwD: 76

AB: 76 AwD: 90

AB: 59 AwD: 76

With this person… (Top 2 highest rankings)

I depend on for my technical prowess Helps me find balance & perspective

I can let my hair down Helps me find balance & perspective

I share my worries & concerns Helps me find balance & perspective

I share my worries & concerns I don't discuss my sport with them

I depend on for my recovery strategies I depend on for my technical prowess

I don't discuss my sport with them Helps me find balance & perspective

I depend on for my recovery strategies I don't discuss my sport with them


I share my worries & concerns I don't discuss my sport with them

We can laugh together I don't discuss my sport with them

I can let my hair down Helps me find balance & perspective


This person provided support when… Top 1 highest ranking

During my early participation in sport



At senior elite level










105

7.7.3. Lifestyle Practices

7.7.3.1. Relaxation

The vast majority of all athletes (>91%) agreed that activities that helped them relax

when not training or competing was important to their success.

7.7.3.2. Sleep (during competition/training)

The mean hours of sleep per/night were not statistically significantly different

between athletes, and the importance of sleep was a common theme in

recommendations athletes would make to younger athletes. (See Table 7.13 in

Written Responses)

7.7.3.3. Diet

The types of dietary advice sought by athletes are summarised in Table 7.6 and

Figures 7.1-7.2. Athletes predominantly sought advice from either a qualified

naturopath or herbalist (95% IP 94% n-IP) or qualified dietician or nutritionist (44% IP

36% n-IP). The prevalence of source of dietary advice was not statistically

significantly between athlete categories.

Table 7.6. Source of Dietary advice by IP / n-IP athletes and AB / AwD athletes

Source of diet advice IP n-IP p-value AB AwD p-value

Qualified Naturopath or Herbalist 95 94 0.386 94 95 0.855

Qualified Dietician or Nutritionist 44 36 0.221 40 30 0.385

Coach 15 20 0.263 20 10 0.260

Unqualified person 13 21 0.128 19 14 0.612

Internet 13 21 0.122 18 0 0.035

Books 8 19 0.053 21 5 0.078


106

Figure 7.1. Source of Dietary advice for IP / n-IP athletes

Figure 7.2. Source of Dietary advice for and AB / AwD athletes

Results for the type of diet consumed by the athletes are summarised in Table 7.7

and Figure 7.3-7.4. The proportion of n-IP-athletes on a ‘high protein’ diet was

significantly higher than for IP-athletes (54% v 38%) (p= 0.047). There were no other

statistically significant differences between IP and n-IP athletes in diet. The meal

0

20

40

60

80

100

QualifiedNaturopath or

Herbalist

QualifiedDietician orNutritionist

Coach Unqualifiedperson

Internet Books

Perc

enta

geSource of diet advice for IP / n-IP athletes

Podium Non-Podium

0

20

40

60

80

100

QualifiedNaturopath or

Herbalist

QualifiedDietician orNutritionist

Coach Unqualifiedperson

Internet Books

Perc

enta

ge

Source of advice for AB/AwD Athletes

Able-bodied With disability


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types consumed by n-IP and IP are summarised in Table 7.8 and Figure 7.5-7.6.

Most athletes (>94%) ate home-cooked meals predominantly. Results for beverages

consumed are summarised in Table 7.9 and Figure 7.7-7.8. The percentage of IP-

athletes who regularly consumed coffee was significantly higher than for n-IP-

athletes.

Table 7.7. Types of Diets consumed by IP / n-IP athletes and AB / AwD athletes

Type of diet IP n-IP p-value AB AwD p-value

High Protein 38 54 0.047* 49 43 0.582

Omnivore 36 39 0.367 38 37 0.931

High carb 32 37 0.274 33 48 0.196

Mostly organic 24 13 0.078 17 15 0.826

Vegetarian 23 14 0.132 19 10 0.357

Not organic 23 32 0.174 31 16 0.178

Partially organic 20 21 0.447 23 10 0.196

Low carb 15 25 0.114 24 10 0.175

Gluten free 11 7 0.232 9 5 0.599

Ketogenic 11 23 0.062 3 0 --

Paleo 8 3 0.087 3 11 --

Vegan 5 4 0.368 5 0 --


108

Figure 7.3. Types of Diets eaten by IP and n-IP athletes

Figure 7.4. Types of Diets eaten by AB / AD athletes

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

High Prot

ein

Omnivore

High ca

rb

Mostly

orga

nic

Vegeta

rian

Not org

anic

Partial

ly org

anic

Low ca

rb

Gluten

free

Ketoge

nicPale

oVeg

an

Perc

enta

geType of Diet of IP / n-IP Athletes

International Podium Non-International Podium

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

High Prot

ein

Omnivore

High C

arb

Not org

anic

Low C

arb

Partial

ly org

anic

Vegeta

rian

Mostly

Orga

nic

Gluten

Vegan

Paleo

Ketoge

nic

Perc

enta

ge

Type of Diet of AB / AwD Athletes



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Table 7.8. Type of meal preparation by IP / n-IP athletes and AB / AwD athletes

Type of meals IP n-IP p-value AB AwD p-value

Home-cooked 95 94 0.429 94 95 0.886

Ready-made 15 17 0.376 16 19 0.734

Take away 10 12 0.361 10 19 0.233

Figure 7.5. Type of meal preparation by IP and n-IP athletes

Figure 7.6. Type of meal preparation by AB and AwD athletes

0

20

40

60

80

100

Home-cooked Ready-made Take away

Perc

enta

ge

Type of Meals of IP / n-IP Athletes

Podium Non-Podium

0

20

40

60

80

100

Home-cooked Ready-made Take away

Perc

enta

ge

Type of Meals of AB / AwD Athletes



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Table 7.9. Type of Beverages consumed by IP and n-IP athletes

Type of Beverages IP n-IP p-value AB AwD p-value

Water 98 96 0.368 97 95 --

Coffee 68 47 0.017* 53 57 0.730

Herbal Tea 23 18 0.257 19 19 0.988

Tea 20 26 0.226 23 29 0.588

Commercial Isotonic Drinks 18 22 0.569 21 19 0.858

Liquid carbohydrate 3 0 -- 0 5 --

Figure 7.7. Type of Beverages consumed by IP and n-IP athletes

Figure 7.8. Type of Beverages consumed by AB and AwD athletes

0

20

40

60

80

100

Water Coffee Herbal Tea Tea CommercialIsotonicDrink

Liquidcarbohydrate

Perc

enta

ge

Type of Beverages

International Podium Non-International Podium

020406080

100

Water

Coffee Tea

Herbal

Tea

Commerc

ial…

Liquid

…

Perc

enta

ge

Type of Beverages



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7.7.4. Psychological Skills and Attributes (Table 7.10)

Athletes were unanimous in perceiving psychological attributes as vital to their

success. All 100% of IP-athletes agreed their Ability to Change (94% n-IP) and

Resilience (96% n-IP) was vital to their success. AB-athletes were more likely to

perceive Ability to Manage Performance Nerves and Rituals as being vital to their

success than AwD. Analysis of psychological attributes within the ‘Written Response’

questions is presented below and in Tables 7.11 – 7.13.

Table 7.10. Psychological Attributes: percentage of IP / n-IP and AB / AwD athletes who agree these

psychological attributes are vital to their success

Psychological Attributes IP n-IP p-value AB AwD p-value

Ability to adapt to change 100 94 0.053 96 95 --

Resilience 100 96 -- 98 95 --

Self-discipline 98 100 -- 99 100 --

Mental toughness 98 94 0.188 95 95 0.489

Ability to recover after injury 98 89 0.052 93 86 0.129

Being self-aware 98 91 0.099 93 95 0.362

Ability to manage emotions during competition

98 94 0.188 96 90 0.140

Goal setting and planning 95 94 0.392 94 95 0.423

Routines 95 87 0.190 90 86 0.272 Ability to manage performance nerves 95 91 0.232 95 81 0.012*

Strategic thinking 90 88 0.345 89 86 0.323

Reflection 90 90 0.500 91 86 0.222

Coping skills 90 90 0.500 90 90 0.484

Problem Solving 88 91 0.260 91 86 0.222

Breathing 88 80 0.156 85 71 0.063

Ability to create a supportive network 85 82 0.306 83 81 0.396

Being a knowledge seeker 83 78 0.264 78 86 0.226

Rituals 61 46 0.064 55 33 0.036* * Significant at p < .05 ** Significant p <.01


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7.7.5. Written Response Questions (Tables 7.11 – 7.13)

When asked - If they achieved a medal at a benchmark event, why, in their opinion,

did they succeed compared to their less successful counterparts? Athletes’

responses fell under the sub-themes: superior self-regulation, effective coping

strategies and positive mindset, maximising training and performance opportunities,

strong work-ethic, and having the right support team. The latter being the most

frequent response amongst IP-athletes: IP 79% n-IP 21%. Most frequent responses

from n-IP-athletes were strong work-ethic IP 21% n-IP 79%.

Table 7.11. Representative quotes in response to the question:

If you have achieved a medal at a benchmark event - why, in your opinion did you succeed compared to your lesser successful counterparts?

Psychological Attributes FTEM

Superior Self-Regulation

Train hard, believe in yourself, maintain perspective and be in the moment. IP

Strong Work Ethic

We set out the goal to win, and everything we did, every training session, every meeting, every recovery session, was all very much focused on that and it was consistently at the forefront of our mind. That melted away any complaints, of too much hard work, or too boring meetings, or being tired, it drove us to DO the right things, even if and when we didn't FEEL like it, because the goal was bigger than any obstacle.

n-IP

Effective Coping Strategies and Positive Mindset

Confidence in the process and the training IP Performance Strategies

Maximising Training and Performance Opportunities

Preparation on the day. Mental preparation leading up to and during competition. Mental and physical focus. n-IP


Having the Right Support Team

Focus and getting on the same page with my teammate.... emotional resilience was strong. Purposeful practice and visions. IP


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Responding to the question - What could be done better to educate and empower

athletes regarding their knowledge and effective usage of athlete and lifestyle

strategies etc.? Two new sub-themes emerged within Performance Strategies:

education (for athletes & coaches), which was mentioned by more than 98% of

athletes and get advice from experienced/retired athletes. The sub-themes: effective

use of sports science sports medicine (SSSM), maximising training, and

performance opportunities, along with the major theme of interpersonal relationships,

were of equal importance. Lifestyle practices such as nutrition/hydration, balance,

and the importance of having time-out, also elicited similar responses.

Table 7.12. Representative quotes of most frequent responses to the question:

What could be done better to educate and empower athletes regarding their knowledge and effective usage of athlete and lifestyle strategies etc? Performance Strategies FTEM Get Advice from Experienced/Retired Athletes New sub-theme Other elite athletes being available to share their experiences and be available to meet with developing athletes to help guide and mentor them.

IP

Have more top athletes visiting younger athletes in sport to give them a better perspective of life in their sport.

n-IP

Education (for athletes & coaches) New sub-theme More podcasts / e-Learning modules sent to athletes. IP Coaches set up the program from the beginning to incorporate the WHOLE plan, not just the technical plan!

IP

Effective use of SMSS More balanced lifestyles, a more scientific approach to elite performance, psychological / nutritional services etc. etc. is relatively new, at least its significant importance to performance has only recently been realised.

IP

Maximising Training and Performance Opportunities Opportunities that provide greater flexibility to undertake education and work, in a capacity that still allows training and travel to work as expected by sporting bodies/ SIS/SAS & sponsors etc

n-IP

Educational videos and support from officials. n-IP Subtle information throughout each training session rather than hour long info sessions. n-IP Interpersonal Relationships Having the right support team Ensuring that those who are around young/newer athletes in a sport have the athletes best interests at the heart of their core priorities. I witnessed first-hand in two sports parents/coaches living their goals & expectations through young athletes. It often destroyed the athlete and most certainly their passion for the sport.

n-IP

Lifestyle Practices The importance of not just 2 hours at training but the other 22 and how you utilise them. n-IP Emphasising the importance of sport/life balance, particularly in sports with limited or non-existent support mechanisms and difficult sporting politics.

n-IP

Importance of time out Reminder that athletes need downtime as well from high intensity schedules n-IP Honestly finding time to relax is key. Having a healthy balance between work, training and life is essential. Alongside that, realising that this is a marathon not a sprint. It’s going to take a long time and you’re going to fail sometimes, but never be afraid of failure. Also find a supportive and encouraging partner. Because life as a HP athlete is a selfish one and it’s important that family and spouses realise that.

n-IP

Balance Conversations and advocate a balanced life. IP Don't forget to live. This will help you contextualise yourself in your sport as it relates to your life. Perhaps, then you will regain an enjoyment for your sport.

n-IP

Plan school, rest and training. Not the other way around. Career/school is important. n-IP


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When asked - What KEY advice/strategies would you advocate for younger

athletes? Insights were provided, extrapolating themes of being proactive, being a

knowledge-seeker, and standing up for yourself. The new sub-theme of ‘balance’

was interlinked with social activity and connection/support, where athletes made

recommendations to connect with other aspects of life such as study, family, and

friends.

Table 7.13. Representative quotes of most frequent responses to the question:

What KEY advice/strategies would you advocate for younger athletes? Psychological Attributes FTEM Superior Self-Regulation Self-reflection. To know the good in the bad, and the bad in the good and to subulate each into your performance. For me, being an athlete is about the movement of your own performances throughout your career. Incorporate your previous performances into how you will perform in the present.

n-IP

Intrinsic Motivation You have to be tough. And I also feel that if you are able to cultivate an internal motivational complex, you are far more likely to be successful. For example, if your motivation come from within, you are more likely to train harder every session, miss less training sessions and put yourself in the necessary uncomfortable situations without prompting.

n-IP

Effective Coping Strategies and Positive Mindset Mental training is the key to success, invest time in this. IP Performance Strategies Maximising Training and Performance Opportunities Avoid 'junk' training - more is not better! n-IP Physical Therapies and Recovery Eat, drink & sleep well - naps are not just for nannas! n-IP Interpersonal Relationships Having the Right Support Team Establish a support team around the athlete as early as possible. These support members will then be able to guide the athlete and help develop the mental framework so that the athlete exhibits better thoughtful action and awareness, as suitable for the individual athlete and their individual sport.

IP

Find a great coach who understands you and who you are as a person as well as who you are as an athlete, and the ways to support you best. Find the best people to support you and guide you and to train with as early as possible so you don't miss out on valuable time, or waste time learning poor techniques/skills/ideas/strategies. Work hard so you have no regrets.

IP

To insure sport/life/school balance. The earlier you can see a counsellor or sport psych is important, particularly if you are competing at a high-level during puberty. Insuring support is always in place at training, not always sporting related but social support for LGBTQI and gendered related issues as the dynamic at training with a group of young people can bring up a lot of issues/concerns in this area.

n-IP

Support from friends and family is crucial, let them know you appreciate it. n-IP Lifestyle Practices Nutrition and Hydration Eat food to fuel your body. Whole foods are the best for you and if you are eating a balanced diet you don't need supplements. n-IP Meal preparation is key to success. During competition you need to work out the snacks & meals that will best fuel you for performance. IP

Younger athletes bodies are continuously growing and developing, therefore avoid dieting or starving strategies to make weigh-ins. In essence, chose divisions that correspond to your natural weight rather than lower/higher weight classes that require extreme weight fluctuations.

IP

Balance New sub-theme A well-rounded person makes a good athlete. You must love what you do but also live a fulfilling and nourishing life. If that means a drink of alcohol or a block of chocolate here and there, it will not be detrimental to your performance. Eat lots, have fun!

n-IP

Maintain a good balance between sport and other parts of life - otherwise it is easy to get burned out. Spend time to plan out each day to make sure you have time for everything you need to do. n-IP


115

Always keep in mind that even though you love the sport and you want to be the best in the business, you have a life outside of it. Learn another skill, socialise and always think about the future. Have the support of your family is important and have a team behind you.

IP

Keep it fun and have something else to fall back on. Sport is not life. n-IP Planning and Goal Setting New sub-theme Focusing and setting goals and having a plan but also making sure you don’t overwork yourself and allow yourself to unwind and relax and recover between training and competing. IP

Know the importance of being an elite athlete and eating, planning and structuring your day and overall year to make you the best performer. n-IP

Set your goals and then set mini goals within those goals. Don’t give up and keep moving forward. Worry about how what you do makes you feel, not anyone else. Know your ‘Why’ New sub-theme My advice to make sure you understand your driver. What drives you to do the sport. Knowing your why? When you know why you do something, the driver, energy, passion, dedication and desire to succeed is very clear. When you don't know your why, then it’s very hard to commit, pursue and persist with elite level sport. When hardships, sacrifices, adversity and everything else that gets thrown at athletes, the WHY needs to be clear so the pull and the want to keep moving forward with focus it automatic and STRONG when road blocks appear. The WHY creates a clear vision!!

IP

Find your 'why'. n-IP Know why you are doing it. Understand how you are going to do it. Do it. IP Take Control / Know yourself New sub-theme Ensure you have the right people around you for 'YOU'! n-IP Focus on who you want to be and what you want to achieve, don’t let anyone change you into someone you don’t want to be. Stay true to yourself, know your emotions and feelings, know your body. Don’t be afraid to seek help.

IP

Be organised. Take time to be by yourself when you need it. Reach out for support. Be fit. Be healthy. Be happy. n-IP

You need to learn how to have tough skin in any sport and how to have self-motivation be disciplined enough to keep you going. Support systems may come and go, the biggest and loyal support you have is in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself or have the discipline to continue to push yourself and strive for greater, you will never gain success.

n-IP

Is there anything in your sporting journey so far that you would have done

differently? Elicited a resounding response that seeking professional assistance

earlier would have been beneficial, i.e. sports psychology, dietician. Having a greater

understanding of nutritional strategies and the implementation of recovery strategies

was strongly reflected, particularly concerning preventing burn-out, fatigue, and

injuries. Another frequent comment was ‘change clubs earlier.’


116

Table 7.14. Representative quotes of most frequent responses to:

Is there anything in your sporting journey so far, that you would have done differently?

Psychological Attributes FTEM

Superior Self-Regulation

Invested in mental training earlier. IP


Maximising Training and Performance Opportunities

Started earlier! x 3 responses n-IP, IP

Effective Utilisation of Sports Science

I would change some of the events that led to injury IP

Physical Therapies and Recovery

Injury stopped me competing. More time developing fundamental athletic capacity rather

than sport specific skills may have provided more longevity. Would generally have benefitted from multi-disciplinary input (especially nutrition, physiotherapy, strength and conditioning,) from an earlier point.

n-IP


Having the Right Support Team

Find better qualified people e.g. a coach earlier in my sporting career. n-IP

Worked with sports psych earlier (x 3 responses) n-IP

I would have spoken to more sports psychologists to manage the demands of my career on and off the diamond, to minimise breakdowns. n-IP

Made the effort to find the right people to speak to when I missed on achieving goals IP

I wish I had asked for help sooner from professionals regarding my coping strategies and stress levels. The pressure and stress of hitting my peak in sport at a young age has permanently affected my mental and physical health and at the time I had severe effects on my mental health, weight and sleeping habits. I wish I had diversified my support network to outside of the sport itself.

n-IP

7.8. Discussion

A key objective of this survey was to explore the awareness, knowledge, culture,

SSSM support, nutrition, training, and lifestyle practices of elite athletes at varying

levels of achievement. Results revealed IP-athletes spent significantly more hours

training throughout the year than n-IP-athletes and were more likely to utilise support


117

services for recovery practices (hot/cold immersion, infrared sauna etc.), massage

therapists, dietician/nutritionists, sports medicine doctors and sports psychologists,

and perceived support from these service providers along with family and friends.

7.8.1. Recovery Practices and Psychological Support

The difference in recovery practices may reflect access to facilities such as hot/cold

immersion, or massage. In our previous research, the use of ice-baths was reported

as a common practice amongst world-class athletes152 and the finding that hot/cold

immersion, plunge-pools and ice-baths was more common amongst IP-athletes

suggest possible merit in introducing contrast bathing to athletes earlier in their

career. The differences between IP and n-IP athletes in their use of massage and

psychological techniques may reflect increased access, rather than these services

contributing to athletic success - as professional services are often recommended by

NIN/NSO’s who also offer financial support. However, many athletes expressed they

would have liked access to these services earlier, suggesting these services are

highly regarded and perceived as beneficial.

I wish I had asked for help sooner from professionals regarding my coping strategies and stress levels. The pressure and stress of hitting my peak in sport at a young age has permanently affected my mental and physical health….I wish I had diversified my support network to outside of the sport itself. (n-IP-athlete)

Psychological skills and attributes were seen as vital to success, with ability to

change and resilience rating the highest. While the importance of resilience and

adaptation is well documented,13 24 most athletes wished they had access to these

skills earlier in their career. A holistic psychological support program, inclusive of

training in mental fortitude,24 emotional intelligence,157 mental toughness,158 and

mindfulness-acceptance-commitment (MAC) practices,47 108 159 could be used to

support athlete wellbeing. Assisting them to enhance performance and embrace the

pressure and expectation to perform and succeed at important benchmark events.

Responses indicated pre-elite athletes are thirsty for deeper knowledge,

understanding, and autonomy. Given the focus on psychological skills being critical

to performance, there is an opportunity to hone and develop psychological skills


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earlier, so they are practiced once the athlete reaches career maturity. Contrary to

the written responses, the second most common response for sports psychologist

was ‘I don’t discuss my sport with them’. Further clarification is required to

understand the role of a sport psychologist better to provide education, strategies,

and support in athlete wellbeing, mental health, stress, and coping versus

competition performance optimisation. Education about this service earlier in the

developmental pathway may provide more targeted use of this professional service.

7.8.2. Perceived Support

While there were notable differences between IP and n-IP-athletes, there were many

similarities. All athletes perceived interpersonal relationships as vital and valued

people who made them laugh and supported them during their careers. Most also

valued their coach’s ability to relate on a personal level equal to their technical

ability.

Perceived support is understood to affect emotional and informational esteem

positively,85 160 and have stress-buffering effects on self-confidence and resilience,13

85 including performance factors.88 The coach-athlete relationship can directly

influence athletes’ motivation as the coaches’ ability to facilitate autonomy-supportive

behaviours, beneficially impact an athletes’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and

drive performance and perseverance.89 Conversely, with pressure to perform and

high stress levels, controlling behaviours are more likely,89 and accidental violence,

non-accidental violence, maltreatment, harassment, coercion, and abuse are not

uncommon in elite sport.33 34 A culture of personal support and respectful

interpersonal relationships may not only prevent potentially harmful interactions, it

may serve to drive higher levels of performance and enhance athletes lives both on

and off the sporting arena.156 Athletes also expressed a desire for access to

experienced athletes for guidance:

Other elite athletes being available to share their experiences and be available to meet with developing athletes to help guide and mentor them. (IP-athlete)


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These reflections contributed to new sub-themes under established152 higher-order

themes being identified:

Performance Strategies: balance, take control/ know yourself, planning/goal

setting.

Lifestyle Practices: get advice from experienced/retired athletes, education

for athletes & coaches.

The advice to ‘change clubs earlier’ highlighted: (i) athlete autonomy and (ii) need for

better support at a grass-roots level. Clubs require education to (i) facilitate high-

performance athletes and (ii) know when to refer or recommend a more specialised

club or DTE. Athletes commented the choice to remain at their club was often due to

loyalty or ‘aiming to please’ rather than making the right career choice.

7.8.3. Nutrition and Sleep

The vast majority of athletes also ate home-cooked meals predominantly and valued

sleep and activities that helped them relax when not training or competing. While

sleep and its impact on health and performance is well understood,161 the survey

measured perception of sleep, and sleep monitoring would provide more accurate

individual information.

7.8.4. Able-Bodied/Athletes with a Disability

Although some statistical differences were seen between AB and AwD, some

differences may be due to their disability e.g., ‘walking’ was utilised more as a

recovery practice amongst AB athletes (79%) compared to AwD (25%). Family

support was greater for AwD, perhaps indicating support for managing various

disabilities. Significance was seen with AB athletes practicing more rituals than AwD.

Further investigation is required to determine why athletes who were AB practiced

more rituals than AwD.


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7.8.5. Additional analysis not included in submitted manuscript

In comparing the variable gender; the significance between males and females for

each recovery strategy was significant for only 6 recovery strategies, yet the

prevalence is higher for females for virtually all recovery strategies, ‘The Sign Test’

was applied for further analysis to assess greater use of ‘recovery practices in

general’. Whilst we are not calculating medians, The Sign Test is applicable here on

the basis of testing the number of positive v negative differences in a set of paired

observations. The outcome of the sign-test was the identification of a statistically

significant difference, with for the 25 activities, 22 showed negative difference,

implying male percentages are lower than those of females. With males reporting a

higher percentage for only 3 activities. The p-value (Exact Sig. (2-tailed)), .000) (this

value is not exactly 0. It is: .000157. But when rounded off to 3 decimal places, it’s

.000) is less than .05. This result implies that percentages of females doing the

activity is significantly higher than males’.

When looking at the average number of training hours per week in the lead up to

competition, it was identified that females were training more hours than males.

Whilst it was not statistically significant (p = 0.074), there was a possible trend for

female athletes to undertake more training than males in the week leading up to a

major competition. This possible trend was further analysed with other factors, such

as ‘International success’ (Podium vs non-Podium), and Type of event (cgs/non-cgs)

using 2-way ANOVA, but no significant interaction was detected. It’s therefore not

possible to suggest an explanation for this possible trend.

7.9. Limitations and Strengths of this study

A limitation of this study was gaining access to athletes. As the contact came either

via their NSO or via the AOC to the NSO, then to the AWE coordinator and then to

the athlete, researchers relied on other people to pass on the survey link and did not

have direct contact with the athletes.

In the results section (Q12 – See Appendix 12), the question was posed: ‘Please

indicate the number and type of podium performances you have had in the past 10

years?’ In hindsight, this should have been worded differently. We were after best


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career performances to gauge the athlete’s achievement level e.g., State or Olympic

level. The question as it was posed in the survey did not allow for any performances

outside that 10 year window. In hindsight, asking athletes to classify themselves

against FTEM would have been simpler and more appropriate. Sample size was also

a limitation to effectively compare across different types of sports.

A strength of this study was the inclusion of current athletes who have been

competing within the last ten years. The aim was to get a snapshot of current

education and awareness, culture, sports science and sports medicine support,

nutrition, training and lifestyle practices. Another strength of this study is the quality

and diversity of the sample. Twenty-five sports were included in the data and a

strong proportion of athletes were Paralympic or athletes with a disability.

The sample size was limited by the number of participants, which may have

impacted on statistical significance. This was due to constraints in recruiting athletes

through third-parties (i.e. NSOs). The large representation of combat sports may

reflect the fact that the lead researcher is an Olympic Gold Medallist in taekwondo,

and hence is highly visible to athletes competing in combat sports. Many athletes

exited the survey when asked to detail their sporting achievements, possibly due to

the complexity of reflecting on their performance history. In retrospect, asking

athletes to classify themselves against FTEM would have been simpler and more

appropriate.

A strength of the study is the quality and diversity of the sample, which provided a

strong cross-section across 25 Olympic and Paralympic sports that included athletes

with a range of sporting success.

7.10. Future Directions

Success both within sport and transition out of sport requires a holistic approach to

athlete development that includes a complimentary mix of wellbeing, lifestyle

practices, performance strategies, psychological attributes, education, and

supportive interpersonal relationships.12 Pre-elite athletes have been identified as the

most vulnerable population coming through athlete development pathways and are


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subject to drop-out and burn-out.17 Therefore, it is essential to quantify and

understand gaps in the system and provide support, screening, and education

platforms that can assess a developing athlete’s competence, facilitate sport-specific

education, and implement interventions to maximise an athlete’s longevity,

performance-success, and transition to retirement.

7.11. Conclusion

These preliminary results confirm the importance of lifestyle, performance strategies,

and social support in sporting success and indicate implementation of educational

strategies, recovery practices, and access to service providers earlier in an athlete’s

career is warranted. Success may also be enhanced through assisting athletes in

better knowing themselves, thus facilitating more robust autonomy. Athlete

development programs would benefit from monitoring and facilitating athletes’ social

support networks and implementing specific programs to foster a culture of

respectful interpersonal relationships amongst athletes and their friends, coaches,

family and support staff.

In summary, the new findings confirmed themes consistent with LEAP interviews:

Inclusive of performance factors, lifestyle, and strong support networks, IP-athletes

attribute their psychological attributes as vital to their success. IP and n-IP athletes

perceive psychological skills/attributes to be vital to their performance, yet many do

not discuss their sport with their sports psychologist.

New sub-themes under higher-order themes: Performance Strategies: Balance,

Take Control/ Know yourself, Planning/Goal Setting. Lifestyle Practices: Get

Advice from Experienced/Retired Athletes, Education for athletes & coaches.

Practical implications for the future are to provide access to support services and

cultivate strong interpersonal relationships, earlier in the athlete development

pathway. To prioritise measurement and development of psychological attributes via

State and National Sporting Organisations at a pre-elite level. Education platforms

that embrace the specific themes highlighted in this study may also help to empower

athletes and coaches and foster athlete-autonomy.


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What are the new findings?

• Results confirmed themes consistent with LEAP interviews: Inclusive of

performance factors, lifestyle, and strong support networks, IP-athletes attribute

their psychological attributes as vital to their success.

• IP and n-IP athletes perceive psychological skills/attributes to be vital to their

performance, yet many do not discuss their sport with their sports psychologist.

• • New sub-themes under higher-order themes:

Performance Strategies: Balance, Take Control/ Know yourself, Planning/Goal

Setting.

Lifestyle Practices: Get Advice from Experienced/Retired Athletes, Education

for athletes & coaches.

How might it impact on clinical practice in the future

• Provide access to support services and cultivate strong interpersonal

relationships, earlier in the athlete development pathway.

• Prioritise measurement and development of psychological attributes via State

and National Sporting Organisations at a pre-elite level.

• Provide an education platform specific to themes highlighted in this study to

empower athletes and coaches and foster athlete-autonomy.


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Chapter 8: General Discussion

8.1. Overview

The overall aim of this thesis was to explore the lifestyle practices and mindset of

elite athletes. As outlined in Chapter 1, the following research objectives were

developed:

1. Identify the lifestyle practices and mindsets that champion athletes attribute

to their success.

2. Explore if these practices are used down the athlete development pathway

with pre-elite and elite level athletes.

3. Provide practical recommendations for athletes and support staff such as

partners, mentors, teachers, educators, and collaborators on improving

athletic performance.

4. Provide theoretical recommendations.

These aims were pursued via a complement of methods, including a review of

athlete development models, frameworks and constructs; interviews with elite

champion athletes; and a survey of athletes at state, national and international level.

See Figure 8.1 for research summary.


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Figure 8.1. Research Summary

The information gained through the course of the interviews and survey provided

new insights into the understanding of lifestyle factors, including, what athletes do

with their lives, extracurricular activities, the role of nutrition, sleep, recovery,

interpersonal relationships, and support.

Elite athletes encounter many challenges in pursuing sporting excellence (injuries,

travel, juggling dual-career etc.) In ideal circumstances, there are however, healthy

outcomes, but on occasion there can be both physical and mental health

consequences. Programs that support high-level (state, national and international)

athletes have traditionally focused on aspects of physical fitness, technique and

skills relevant to their sport, and the mental preparation for competition. This

research identified the importance of including supporting knowledge, behaviours


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and lifestyle factors, including positive relationships with key people, as a vital aspect

for success and to support the athlete’s overall mental and physical health. These

findings have already been used to modify the approaches, models and support

structures advocated and provided to athletes (senior and junior) by major sporting

organisations and support the health and performance of athletes. This research

also contributes to further strengthening the models of athlete support and care. See

8.1.7 and 8.1.8 for letters from the AIS and Paralympic Australia.

Findings from this research specific to psychological strategies, self-regulation and

support have been utilised within education sessions for athletes, parents, coaches

and sporting organisations and schools through the New South Wales Office of

Sport. Of particular note is their inclusion within their Future Champions Strategy,162

a critical policy document from the NSW Government to inform better awareness and

support of athletes and all supporting stakeholders. This research has also already

informed strategy, education, resource provision and support of participants and

emerging athletes within NSW163 and compliments current educational initiatives

delivered by the NSW Office of Sport regarding importance of wellbeing and balance

and facilitating self-regulation. See appendix 17.

Two new models were established and published:

1. Contributors to world-class performance152

2. Strengthening interpersonal relationships in elite sport – a visual summary156

8.2. Overview of Key Findings

8.2.1. Study 1: Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers – (LEAP) interviews

In this study, ten World, Olympic, and Paralympic, Champions were interviewed

using a semi-structured approach. The subsequent thematic analyses identified four

dominant overlapping themes: psychological attributes, interpersonal relationships,

performance strategies, and lifestyle practices. Of note was the fact that all athletes

attributed their world-class success to psychological rather than physical factors, with

the clear majority employing mental rehearsal skills and recovery practices.

Once sport-specific training and physical prowess are accounted for, athletes are

established at an elite level, champion athletes attribute their psychological attributes


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as the major factor contributing to their success. A way of life integrates and

balances mindset, performance, lifestyle and relationship factors and aligns

knowledge and strategies as commonalities amongst these world class athletes.

The collective evidence revealed that gold medal performances are likely to occur at

the intersection of a robust psychological profile, interpersonal support, effective

performance strategies, and lifestyle. Utilising these integrated attributes and

strategies as needed; depends on the athlete’s ability to shift focus within these

domains by way of a tilt that can lean in many directions. This skill is adaptive

through effective self-regulation and becomes habitual with accumulated experience

and exposure.152

Further to the published work summarising the LEAP interviews,152 an editorial piece

was published, expanding specifically on the importance and impact of healthy

interpersonal relationships. The criticality and power of interpersonal relationships to

attenuate the potential stress of an athlete was discussed. Additionally, within this

editorial, potentially harmful relationships and the power dynamics within high

performance sport were addressed, along with the value of allied health practitioners

and friends and family, in providing important support for athletes.

Human social-connection is critical for sustaining health and wellbeing for all

individuals and central to elite sporting performance. Quality relationships can induce

positive physiological changes that improve adaption to stress (cardiovascular

arousal, cortisol/glucocorticoid levels, reduce threat-related brain activity), enhance

general health, longevity, and performance.87 Interpersonal relationships are critical

to achieving sustained success in the elite sporting domain.

As evidenced from our findings, such relationships may be developed through

partnerships with support staff (including masseurs, physiotherapists and

complementary medicine practitioners), as the close professional working

environment can offer a framework to develop collaborative, compassionate,

professional relationships that are respectful of the athlete’s perspective, knowledge

and wisdom, and support athlete autonomy. Creating supportive interpersonal

relationships is not a passive process but ideally should be a dynamic interplay


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which evolves as individuals move along their development pathway. This research

spans beyond the athlete-practitioner relationship and applies to many relationships

and partnerships inclusive of all patients, mentors, teachers, educators, and

collaborators. See table 8.1 for illustrations of relationships in the context of support,

coaches, and the power of laughter.

Table 8.1. Relationships: support, coaches, and the power of laughter

SUPPORT

"The masseur was just as important as anyone in the team. (When performing in my sport)…you are favouring one side of your body all the time. My right side was built up far greater than my left all the time. I would rather have had the sports masseur than the coach some days because the coach became a team manager and the sports masseur was a part of the team and a friendly guy. We always sent the coach—if I had to pick one, I would pick the massage therapist."

AT/IM2

COACHES PI/TM2 reflects on starting to work with his coach: “He’d never coached anyone with a disability, so he probably didn't know where to start expect I know a friend had the discussion with him about if he would take me on, and he was like, “Oh, I never had anyone with a disability.” And she was like, “… just treat him like another athlete. He'll be fine.” And once he did that, once he made that conscious decision that if I was down on the ground, about to spew and I had another rep to go, and if it was another athlete in the squad he'd kind of kick him on the leg a bit and say, “Hey, get up, you've got another one to go,” once he kind of did that with me I was kind of like, “Yes, great,” because the last thing I wanted was a coach that would say, “Oh yeah, but it's okay, you've got one arm.”

LAUGHTER AIF4 was asked if she had someone in her life who made her laugh: "My coach for the last three years. I made a lot of decisions with the Olympic Winter Institute on my planning. He wasn’t employed really as a technical coach because I was more successful than he ever was in his career as an athlete. He didn't even have a great technical knowledge but… he was fun, and he was light. At this point in my career I was getting older and had less energy. He was that funny, upbeat guy who made me laugh, we just laughed the whole way through the last three years, and I'm telling you I needed it. It was bloody terrible.

He would sing songs. He was so funny. As bad as it was and what I was going through, he made it so enjoyable. I'd be crying one minute, and he would be there being so funny that it didn't matter anymore. He was good fun.”

KEY: A = Able bodied P = Paralympic T = Team sport I = Individual sport T/I = Team & Individual F = Female M = Male

Having identified critical factors related to lifestyle, mindset and high-performance in

the LEAP interviews, the next step was to ascertain if these factors were confirmed

within a larger sample of high performance athletes, and if these strategies and


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related knowledge structures were employed and utilised effectively by emerging

(pre-elite level) athletes.

With the line of questioning and themes informed by the LEAP interviews results, a

comprehensive online survey was developed and administered to state, national and

international level athletes including those affiliated with the National Institute

Network and related State and National sporting organisations.

8.2.2. Study 2: Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers – Survey

The LEAP Survey was administered online with support and endorsement by several

sports governing bodies and institutes and endorsed by the Australian Olympic

Committee. Its purpose was to ascertain information concerning current lifestyle

practices and support amongst this wider group (including juniors), to identify

important lifestyle and support components that facilitated positive mental health and

performance in these aspiring individuals. Furthermore, it aimed to assess these

practices across the cohort. The LEAP Survey utilised a mixed-methods approach

involving an online survey expanding on the LEAP interviews (see chapter 4).

Australian athletes in Olympic sports who have competed at State level or above in

the past 10 years were invited to participate. The investigation aimed to gain

information and insight specific to the utilisation of lifestyle practices and attributes of

Olympic, Paralympic and High-Performance Australian athletes, from state level to

podium level. To compare any differences between International Podium (IP) and

Non n-IP athletes, able-bodied (AB) athletes and athletes with disabilities (AD), male

and female athletes.

Survey results identified IP and n-IP athletes perceived psychological skills and

attributes, along with strong interpersonal relationships as vital to their success,

confirming the evidence gleaned from the LEAP Interviews. Recovery practices were

also considered integral to performance, especially amongst IP athletes. All athletes

expressed a desire for greater knowledge, mentoring, and autonomy earlier in their

careers.


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A table was produced in LEAP Study 1, title: Identifying Higher-order emergent

themes and sub-themes. See Table 5.3. These Higher-order themes were expanded

to include new subthemes under Performance Strategies and Lifestyle Practices.

• Performance Strategies: Get advice from experienced/retired athletes,

education (for athletes & coaches)

• Lifestyle Practices: Balance, planning, and goal setting, know your ‘why’ and

take control / know yourself

See Table 8.2 for updated higher-order emergent themes and subthemes.

Table 8.2. Higher-order emergent themes and sub-themes - UPDATED

Psychological Attributes Superior Self-Regulation Strong Intrinsic Motivation Effective Visualisation and Imagery Strategies Reliance on Faith, Routines or Rituals Strong Work Ethic Strong Self-Confidence and Dominance Effective Coping Strategies and Positive Mindset

Performance Strategies Maximising Training and Performance Opportunities Effective Utilisation of Sports Science Physical Therapies and Recovery Get Advice from Experienced/Retired Athletes Education (for athletes & coaches)

Interpersonal Relationships Having the Right Support Team The Athlete-Coach Partnership

Lifestyle Practices Nutrition and Hydration Utilisation of Complementary Therapies Importance of Time Out Balance Planning and Goal Setting Know your ‘Why’ Take Control / Know yourself

These results suggest high-level performance requires education and development

of psychological skills and attributes, and support services implemented early in the


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athlete development pathway. Incorporating these elements within system-level

implementation could help create an environment to facilitate repeated podium

performances, retain athletes in high-performance sport for longer, and encourage

human-flourishing and smooth transitions for retiring athletes.

8.3. Mastery Athlete Framework

A new overarching category has been added to these four themes; psychological

attributes, performance strategies, interpersonal relationships and lifestyle factors,

and subsequent sub-themes emergent from the LEAP studies. After pondering on

the themes from this work, and as this project is reaching its conclusion, it has

become more tangible. It is: Indomitable Spirit.

This thesis examined key athlete and environmental factors that enabled elite

athletes’ superior performance, culminating in winning gold medals at bench mark

events, which occur every two or four years. To win at this podium level of sports

performance, everything must culminate together at that point, on that one day. This

striving is beyond the healthy aspirations of physical literacy or increasing

participation rates for their sport. This is about bringing forth all of their hard work,

dedication, passion, sacrifice, meticulous training, and preparation; for one goal.

Champion athletes possess an “Indomitable Spirit.” They compete with their smarts,

their honed physical attributes, their game plans but more than that; they compete

with spirit.

The idea of an “Indomitable Spirit” stems from Confucianism and is linked to the

martial art of taekwondo. It is less tangible than measuring Vo2 Max or power to

weight ratio, but it is trainable, and it is real. It is reported that gold medal-winning

athletes have often suffered adversity of some kind, and many claim without that

adversity, they would not have won their gold medals.13 It is not helpful for our

athletes’ narrative to suffer trauma to be successful. However, with the appropriate

balance between Challenge and Support, the honing of the spirit is possible.24

Establishing frameworks that are inclusive of supportive ways to challenge, grow,

and cultivate the indomitable spirit of athletes is an imperative to high-performance

culture.


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Indomitable spirit encompasses traits such as: grit, tenacity, unyielding commitment,

courtesy, perseverance, resilience, integrity, self-control, self-regulation, and

indomitable will.

The emergent themes and sub-themes (seen in table 8.2) identified by mastery level

athletes have been consolidated into a framework to guide future practice, with

indomitable spirit and self-regulation as overarching themes. Self-regulation is the

glue that facilitates the athlete to shift focus and create balance between aspects of

importance; to reflect, plan, self-monitor, and evaluate their needs and effort.164

Figure 8.2. Mastery Athlete Framework


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8.4. Theoretical Implications and Considerations

8.4.1. Advocating an Integrated Holistic Approach to related theory and research

A more integrated and holistic approach to support the athletes’ development and

subsequent performance is critical and recommended by the IOC consensus

statement on youth athletic development.25 Developing capable, healthy, and

resilient athletes is imperative.25 To establish this, knowledge structures and

prevalence of strategies utilised by athletes along the high performance pathway and

relative fit of inter-disciplinary support specific to ensuring effective nutrition,

recovery; sleep; psychological skills, minimisation of injury and optimisation of health

and wellbeing, related psychological support and safeguarding from potential abuse;

need to be central to further research inquiry into effective athlete development.25 165

Complementing this is the related inquiry of the knowledge structures and practices

of coaches supporting the development of emerging and high-performance athletes,

utilising the right fit of methodological approach.

Further dedicated research to confirm the relative importance of each of the

identified factors and their strength of interaction longitudinally across the sport

pathway and the key catalysts underpinning these factors’ acquisition would be

highly beneficial. For example, how the skills of visualisation and mental imagery

(which was heavily utilised by mastery level athletes) can be implemented and

honed early in the TD pathway.

As illustrated by Gulbin et al. an athletes’ performance development is not a

predictable linear climb from lower to higher competition levels. But instead,

development trajectories follow non-linear patterns, which are highly variable

between junior and senior competition levels.22 Therefore, to foster continued,

ongoing education for key stakeholders and maximise cohesive TD and high-

performance environments; effective approaches for promoting awareness of the

criticality of self-regulation, lifestyle balance, support and knowledge to athlete

development and performance and most importantly wellbeing, need to be

considered and measured for practical implementation.


134

Valuable engagement and educational strategies for emerging athletes and their

support partners (e.g., coach, parents, partners, peers) regarding the importance of

these factors to development, performance and wellbeing in and out of sport are

essential. Along with coverage of these factors, prioritisation is required to facilitate

individual case management of pre-elite and elite athletes e.g. within Individual

Athlete Performance and Wellbeing Plans,38 ongoing athlete monitoring

systems/processes and related developmental and high-performance strategy of

their sport at a regional, state, national level.

8.4.2. Lifestyle Factors

Lifestyle categories were identified in Chapter 2. These categories can be used to

promote awareness, educate and inform the development and support of

underpinning future athletes. To create a framework in which emerging athletes can

aspire to emulate and incorporate these recognised lifestyle factors, a holistic

framework is presented below in figure 8.3

Figure 8.3. Lifestyle Categories – A Holistic Framework


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8.4.3. Three-Dimensional Athlete Development Model (3D-AD)

Findings from the LEAP research importantly assisted in reviewing and refining

existent models and frameworks specific to supporting related theory and practice

within sport development and performance. For example, this body of work’s findings

have directly informed the update of the 3-Dimensional Athlete Development Model

(3D-AD).21 42 140 As described in Chapter 2, the 3D-AD model complements the

FTEM framework and provides the required operational granularity and supports its

implementation guiding the right fit of integration of key athlete, environmental and

system-level factors specific to each level to support favourable developmental and

performance outcomes FTEM and 3D-AD are utilised in concert supporting the

planning, strategy and operational implementation of Australian regional, state and

national sporting organisations and aligned research activities.

Informed by the LEAP research, the 3D-AD2 model has been updated to incorporate

emergent Performance and Lifestyle Knowledge and Practices as critical and

complementary Athlete Factors. Furthermore, ‘Complementary Practitioners’ and

‘Other Pursuits’ were added as important Environmental Factors. See Figure 8.3.

8.4.3.1. Performance Alliance

The therapeutic alliance has long framed the context for building trust and rapport in

the clinical and professional settings. In preparation for presenting at the

International Congress of Complementary Medicine Research (ICCMR), the term

Performance Alliance was coined to move from the ‘illness model’ to a ‘wellness

model.’ This research highlighted that for support staff and allied health practitioners,

building rapport can often be equal to, or greater than their expertise for health and

performance outcomes.

The strength of support networks and interpersonal relationships have been reported

as a performance factor amongst elite athletes.13 152 156 Fletcher and Sarkar attribute

perceived support to underpin the stress-resilience-performance relationship,

creating a stress-buffering effect along with enhanced resilience from this support.13

It has been suggested that perceived support influences situational control and

available esteem support is associated with higher levels of challenge appraisals,


136

which is associated with better performance.85 87 Athletes are highly selective

regarding their support-network and value relationships that allow them to laugh and

have time-out from pressures of high-stakes competition.

Therefore, it is apparent that partnerships with support-staff (including

complementary medicine practitioners), can offer a framework to develop quality

relationships extending beyond purely technical/professional relationships. This

research provides relevance to the client-practitioner relationship and the value of

facilitating interpersonal relationships and human connection for all individuals.

Our recommendation is to place structured emphasis on keeping support staff

proficient in skills such as social and emotional intelligence, motivational

interviewing, solution-based counselling and mental fortitude training, will support

connection, establish ‘quality relationships’ and therefore impact wellbeing and

performance. Techniques & traits which contribute to the performance alliance

include being flexible, honest, respectful, trustworthy, confident, warm, interested,

and open. Techniques include exploration, reflection, noting past success, attending

to previous experience. Positive connectedness early in the relationship is attributed

to training, consistency, non-verbal gestures (eye contact, leaning forward), verbal

behaviours (interpretation, self-disclosure), and maintenance of therapeutic frame.166

Understanding more about the role and impact of these key factors is critical to

informing current athlete and system-level support. An integrated approach

encompassing these four dimensions can potentially be used to inform the

development of a valid and reliable screening tool that assesses a developing

athlete’s knowledge and competency within in each of these domains and is a pre-

cursor to tailored education and intervention that can maximise an athlete’s longevity

and performance success.

8.4.3.2. Gold Medal Teamwork

To engage the most effective educational platform to facilitate strong support

networks and forge quality relationships, we need to measure perceived support.

Inspired by the LEAP interviews and the Burns et al. editorial piece,156 the AIS


137

embarked upon a research project to further engage the lived experience of Olympic

gold medal-winning athletes and coaches to share their experiences and

understanding of interpersonal support, with the author of this thesis being involved

in this initiative.

The aims were: To investigate the factors related to therapeutic/performance

alliances between athletes and support staff which have led to Olympic Gold Medals

in Australia. To establish, measure and evaluate the strength of an athlete’s support

team and provide training and resources to bring depth to service providers’ skillset,

which extends past their technical expertise. To engage the athlete’s voice123 and

draw from champion athletes’ lived experience and explore and quantify perceived

support for this elite group.

Two main aspects of relationships pertinent to the sporting context provided

background:

1. the support team (coach, service providers, SSSM, parents, teammates,

friends)

2. the therapeutic/performance alliance between professional service providers

and the athlete.13 116

This research also utilised the terminology ‘Performance Alliance’ to frame the

context of interpersonal relationships having a performance enhancing effect in the

sporting domain.

8.5. Practical Implications and Considerations

Recommendations for future consideration:

Þ Create greater awareness, education, planning, resources and monitoring of

athletes at various developmental levels specific to psychological and lifestyle

factors and balance.

Þ Develop a cohesive framework to support and promote healthy, supportive

quality relationships, and effective teamwork. Place value on the relationships

athletes have with allied health professionals such as the masseur or

physiotherapist along with family members, friends and coaches.


138

Þ Provide education for support staff to understand the Performance Alliance

and the skills that underpin it such as motivational interviewing and solutions-

based counselling.

Þ Offer psychological skills training and access to sport psychology services

earlier in the athlete development pathway.

Þ Implement Wellbeing Plans38 for athletes, inclusive of athlete lifestyle factors a

such as nutrition, recovery, sports psychology, injury prevention, career and

transitional planning, sport-life balance including promoting the importance of

time out within recreational pursuits, along with promoting engaging and

supportive interpersonal connections.

Þ Emphasise club level coach education, with a view to recognising when an

athlete needs to move to the next developmental level.

Þ Develop and implement a valid and reliable screening tool be developed

which encompasses the four dimensions established in LEAP Study 1, and

assesses a developing athlete’s competency in each of these domains,

whereby this screening is a precursor to tailored education and intervention in

order to maximise an athlete’s longevity, performance success and transition.

8.5.1. Limitations

Despite developing new thinking in this area of athlete research there were some

limitations to each of the studies. Study one, the sample of athletes from a variety of

sports was small, therefore it was not possible to draw conclusions about specific

sports, nor make meaningful conclusions about differences between athletes.

Secondly, subjectivity and recall of many key events and the athletes’ reflections,

may be impacted upon with the passing of time given that of the athletes who were

interviewed, had sporting careers that spanned over two decades. This fact may also

increase the likelihood of generational differences in advocated strategies specific to

aspects such as diet, recovery, sleep, the use of technology, fit of culture, and

effective training methods supported by sports science and sports medicine

knowledge and evidence at that time.

A limitation of LEAP Study 2 was the relatively small number of athletes who

completed the survey, which may have impacted upon statistical significance. This


139

was largely due to constraints in recruiting athletes through third parties such as

National Sporting Organisations and the National Network of Sport Institutes. There

was a large representation of combat sport athletes within the cohort (in part due to

the fact that the lead researcher is herself a gold medal winning Olympic athlete in

Taekwondo) and limited representation within other sports. Additionally, many

participants exited the survey when asked to detail their sporting achievements, this

may be due to the complexity of reflecting on their competition and performance

history. Asking athletes to classify themselves against levels of sporting

representation or levels of competition (See Gulbin et al, 2013)22 would have been

much simpler in retrospect.

8.6. Conclusion

The lifestyle of an athlete is inherently a part of their sporting experience and a

critical aspect of their daily lives. Promoting a positive lifestyle which respects and

considers the wellbeing of the person is integral to a holistic approach for supporting

an athlete’s development and performance progression. The values of Olympism

alongside the placed importance on positive wellbeing encourage individuals to

flourish in mind, body and spirit, within the context of their close relationships and

local community, global society and all life on earth to which we are all connected.

This research suggests whatever our chosen pursuit; skills and attributes such as

self-regulation, quality relationships and social connectedness, and empowering

environments, are important for human flourishing and are as applicable to sport as

they are to general wellbeing. Thus, programs that acknowledge and develop these

attributes are likely to produce more successful athletes as well as more well-

rounded and higher functioning individuals.

Building literacy specific to wellbeing inclusive of self-care, recovery and

psychological skills is integral to a holistic approach to athlete development.

Performance and transition out of sport and programs such as the ‘Athlete Wellbeing

and Engagement Programs’36 and related tools such as ‘Personalised Wellness

Plans’38 are a good place to start to better support all athletes. Creating an

environment and framework to be well and teach skills that promote effective


140

communication. If we take a step back and consider the governance, duty of care,

and philosophy specific to how athletes are treated, respect is a central and critically

important aspect. We need to step outside the performance team of coach/athlete

and focus more on the philosophy around developing young people holistically and

effectively to empower them and enable their autonomy.

There is often discussion around coaching investment earlier in the athlete

development pathway, but establishing a holistic framework is much more than

coach education. It is limiting to place all responsibility on the coach to be a better

coach. Respect needs to be embedded in the philosophy of how to treat people. The

overall philosophy of the sport will directly impact the athlete and their performance.

Both Dijkstra et al.167 and Sporer et al.40 advocate for a shared model of care, with

the focus always on the health and performance for the athlete. Integrated

multidisciplinary teams which overlap between coaching staff, SSSM, along with the

athlete being involved in the decision-making process are the way forward. For

example, The Integrated Performance Health Management and Coaching Model167

which reflects a shared and shifting responsibility that is interchangeable between

practitioners within the performance support team. This model focuses on the

operational integration of the two key departments: health and coaching to improve

performance. It provides an integrated and multidisciplinary approach which is

divided into Performance Health Management and Performance Coaching and is

inclusive of complementary practitioners and nutrition and recovery practices.167 See

Appendix 16.

As Sporer et al. discuss, it is not enough to simply have a group of individual

practitioners surrounding the athlete and call it an integrated performance team.40 An

active, thoughtful, measured process is required to truly have an integrated

approach. Successful elite performance is multifactorial, however, an integrated

cohesive support team of practitioners and coaches can increase the likelihood of

predictable high performance.40


141

8.6.1. Implications and Scope

Results from this work emphasise the need for better awareness, education,

planning, resources and monitoring of athletes at various developmental levels

specific to psychological and lifestyle factors and balance. The scope of this

research directly impacts sporting stakeholders such as NSO’s and athlete pathway

development; athletes; club and elite level coaches, support staff including allied

health and SSSM practitioners.

An overarching framework comprising four distinct but integrated ‘levers of change’

to support a move forward are as follows:

1. Education – recovery, psychological skills training, nutrition

2. Governance – based on the philosophy of respect for the whole person

3. Relationships – valuing the impact of relationships on both wellbeing and

performance, along with education on how to strengthen interpersonal

relationships in sport

4. Performance Support - fundamental performance optimisation; providing the

athlete with ways to test, trial and error to hone performance strategies.

Inclusive of Support / Challenge – facilitating a healthy coach/athlete

relationship dynamic. Challenge and Support without creating trauma.

These levers of change are consolidated below in Figure 8.4.


142

Figure 8.4. Levers for Change

A significant theme to emerge from this work is the importance of interpersonal

relationships, for both wellbeing and also performance. In light of this, I would like to

conclude this thesis and related body of work with the following quote:

Relationships with other humans are both the foundation and the theme of the human condition: We are born into relationships, we live our lives in relationships with others, and when we die, the effects of our relationships survive in the lives of the living, reverberating throughout the tissue of their relationship

—Ellen Berscheid, 1999

For a List of Publications, Conference Presentations, Business / Community

Presentations and Awards see appendices 16 – 19.


143

Chapter 9: Addendum: Impact

The work reported in this thesis has been recognised for its impact in the sporting

and non-sporting community which resulted in the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for

Research Impact HDR.

Along with the publications listed in this thesis, following is a summary of the work’s

impact and supporting documentation.

9.1. LEAP Research Impact Summary

9.1.1. Publications

Two publications in British Journal of Sports Medicine. Impact Factor 12.68 Both publications contributed new material relevant to the field.

Published in Olympic World Library, Olympic Studies Centre:

https://library.olympic.org

Following these publications, the LEAP Research has had impact on a variety of

sectors, including major stakeholders in Australian Sport. Grass roots and

community level to the very top echelon of elite sport.

9.1.2. Industry Application

The LEAP research has been used by various stakeholders in Australian Sport:

New South Wales Office of Sport, New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) and Talent Pathways section of the NSW Office of Sport

• Incorporated into a formalised teaching platform to educate parents of young

athletes.

• Particular focus on psychological skills and strategies, athlete wellbeing and

mental health in regard to sport-life balance and strong interpersonal

relationships and support for Parents, Athletes, Coaches and State/National

Administrators


144

• Assist in guiding and educating current and emerging athletes

Australian Institute of Sport

• Incorporated into education for elite athletes directly through the AIS

• Utilised in the Gold Medal Ready (GMR) program which uses Olympic Gold

Medallists to mentor medal potential athletes.

• Used to directly inform new research on the strength of interpersonal

relationships in elite sport. This research has passed ethics and pilot has

been completed. Project title: Gold Medal Ready Support – Do we have gold

medal teamwork?

Australian Paralympic Committee • Used by the Athlete Wellbeing and Engagement Officer at the APC.

9.1.3. Informing Theoretical Application

LEAP Research has directly informed the update of the 3 Dimensional Athlete

Development Model (3D-AD).42 140 3D-AD3 incorporates emergent Performance and

Lifestyle Practices as critical and complementary Athlete Factors. ‘Complementary

Practitioners’ and ‘Other Pursuits’ also informed by LEAP research and added as

required and important Environmental Factors.


145

Figure 9.1. Previous 3D-AD2

Figure 9.2. 3D-AD3: Updated to include Performance & Lifestyle Practices, Complementary

Practitioners and Other Pursuits

9.1.4. Presentations to Wider Sporting Community

• Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) – Winning Pathways, 2016

• New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) – LEAP Research, 2017

Learnings from PhD findings to inform and support educational content

regarding the importance of psychological skills and strategies, athlete

wellbeing and sport -life balance for Parents, Athletes, Coaches and

State/National Administrators through the Talent Pathways section of the

NSW Office of Sport

• NSWIS Pathways to High Performance Strategy – Pathways Platforms and

Partnerships Forum and Focus Group Consultation 'Athletes: Complete and

supported athletes across NSW’ 2018

• International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research (ICCMR), 2019. Presenting to practitioners and service providers. See Appendix 12

• FEPSAC (European Federation of Sport Psychology), Germany, 2019

• The Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AIS NSW) Heads of Sport

Conference ‘Tackling the Issues in Sport’. Keynote: LEAP. Hunter Valley

NSW 2019

• Corporate / Community. The research has also been incorporated into

various other corporate and community speaking engagements.


146

9.1.5. Social Media

• BJSM posted LEAP Model on Social Media to promote discussion in the wider

community. “Contributors to World Class Performance”152

• BJSM posted LEAP Model on Social Media to promote discussion in the wider

community. “Strengthening Interpersonal Relationships – A Visual

Summary”156


147

9.1.6. Statement of Support from Primary PhD Supervisor Professor Stephen Bird


148

9.1.7. Letter of Support from Rosanna Stanimirovic, Psychologist and Program Manager: Gold Medal Ready, Australian Institute of Sport

26th July 2019

To whom it may concern,

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has been impressed with the Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers (LEAP) Research. The evidence presented supports education programs delivered at the AIS. Particularly in relation to athlete health and wellbeing.

• Athlete Wellbeing & Engagement: Providing lived experience supporting the

importance of education about lifestyle factors, balance, time-out, support networks and facilitating access to services earlier in an athlete’s career.

• Gold Medal Ready Program: A program which draws upon the experience of Australia’s Olympic Gold Medal Alumni to educate, mentor and prepare the next generation of Olympic athletes. Alumni contribute by sharing their experiences with athletes and coaches and participate in specifically designed activities delivered in partnership with the Australian Army’s Special Operations Command.

• Performance Health & Athlete Availability: The influence of strong interpersonal

relationships and performance is a gap in the literature related to elite athletes. The LEAP research has directly informed a new study to quantify the importance of interpersonal relationships in elite sport. The proposed research has passed ethics and recently commenced. The project is titled: Gold Medal Ready Support – Do we have gold medal teamwork? We are excited to see the results and progress the research and education further in this space.

Regards,

Rosanna Stanimirovic PhD Program Manager: Gold Medal Ready

Australian Institute of Sport


149

9.1.8. Letter of Support from Daniela Di Toro, Paralympic Australia Athlete Welfare and Engagement Officer


150

9.1.9. Award Confirmation – Vice Chancellor’s Prize for Research Impact HDR


151

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Appendices

Refer to attached document.

Appendix 1: Lifestyles and mindsets of Olympic, Paralympic and world

champions: is an integrated approach the key to elite

performance? ..................................................................................... 165

Appendix 2: Participant Information Sheet/Consent Form ...................................... 174

Appendix 3: ASEHAPP 15-16 COHEN-BURNS Approval Letter ............................ 177

Appendix 4: Interview Script .................................................................................... 178

Appendix 5: Representative Quotes from Athletes ................................................. 183

Appendix 6: Supportive interpersonal relationships – a key component to

high-performance sport ...................................................................... 188

Appendix 7: PIS LEAP Survey ................................................................................ 193

Appendix 8: SEHAPP 72-18 BIRD-BURNS Approval Letter Copy ......................... 196

Appendix 9: NSO Information Sheet ....................................................................... 198

Appendix 10: Letter of Support and Email Sent from the AOC ............................... 200

Appendix 11: Letter of Invitation from Lauren to Athletes ....................................... 202

Appendix 12: LEAP Survey ..................................................................................... 203

Appendix 13: FTEM (Foundation, Talent, Elite, Mastery) Developmental

Framework .......................................................................................... 220

Appendix 14: The Integrated Performance Health Management and Coaching

Model .................................................................................................. 221

Appendix 15: International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research

(ICCMR), Abstract .............................................................................. 222

Appendix 16: The Holistic Athlete Career Model .................................................... 223

Appendix 17: NSW Office of Sport Impact and Application .................................... 224

Appendix 18: List of Publications ............................................................................ 225

Appendix 19: Conference Presentations ................................................................. 226

Appendix 20: Business / Community Presentations ............................................... 227

Appendix 21: Awards .............................................................................................. 228


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Appendix 1: Lifestyles and mindsets of Olympic, Paralympic and world champions: is an integrated approach the key to elite

performance?


166


167


168


169


170


171


172


173


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Appendix 2: Participant Information Sheet/Consent Form

Project Title: A study of the lifestyles and mindset of elite athletes

Investigators:

o Ms Lauren Burns (Masters student, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, [email protected] )

o Dr Marc Cohen (Project Supervisor: Professor of Complementary Medicine, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, [email protected], +61 3 9925 7440)

o Dr Liza Oates (Second Supervisor: School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, [email protected] 0412 310390)

This information sheet describes information about the project before you decide whether or not to take part in it. If you have any questions about the project, please ask one of the investigators. Why have you been approached? You have been approached because you are recognised as an expert in your field of elite athletic performance. Your consent You will be asked to sign a consent form stating that you agree to participate in a recorded interview. Who is involved in this research project? This project is being conducted by Ms Lauren Burns (BHSc (Naturopathy), Olympic Gold Medallist, Taekwondo) under the supervision of Professor Marc Cohen (Professor of Health Science, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University) as part of a Master’s program in the School of Health and Biomedical Sciences at RMIT University. The project has been approved by the RMIT Human Research Ethics Committee. What is the project about? The purpose of this project is to identify the key lifestyle practices and other factors such as training and preparation of elite level athletes. We aim to identify similarities and nuances within lifestyle habits of podium performers. The findings of this research will be used to help assist athletes, coaches and sporting organisations identify lifestyle practices that may contribute to sporting success. If I agree to participate, what will I be required to do? You will be asked to read this statement, sign a consent form and participate in a recorded Skype, phone or face-to-face interview with the researcher – Lauren Burns. The interview will be semi-structured and involve a series of questions to discuss your performances, training program and lifestyle practices. It is anticipated that this interview will take approximately 1 to 2 hours to complete. If you would like to view a copy of the sample questions before agreeing to participate, please contact one of the investigators. What are the risks or disadvantages associated with participation? There are no risks involved in this research other than use of your time. If you are concerned about any questions, please inform the investigator who will be interviewing you. Your involvement in this interview is voluntary and you can suspend or end your participation in the project at any time.


175

What are the benefits associated with participation? The information collected in this interview will be used to inform the design of training for elite high-performance sports as well as being used for grass roots development and talent identification. What will happen to the information I provide? The recording of the interview will be transcribed by the secure Upwork’s website and the recording and associated notes will be stored on a password protected University server where it will be stored securely for a period of five (5) years after which it will be expunged. This data will be collated with interview data from other athletes and analysed for specific content and themes. You may choose to allow your identity and sport to be identified or have your information remain anonymous. Due to the calibre of your achievements, allowing your information to be identified will add weight to the research and discussions with National Sporting Organisations, State and National Sporting institutes and coaches based on the findings of the interviews. You will be provided with a copy of your interview transcript to check its accuracy and you will have the ability to identify and remove any information you do not want revealed. It is anticipated that the results of the project will be published in a respected scientific journal. In accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles outlined in the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, you have the right to access and to request correction of information held about you by RMIT University. What are my rights as a participant? You have the right to have any questions answered at any time. Participation in this research project is voluntary. You are entitled to withdraw your participation at any time, without prejudice. In this event you may request to have any unprocessed data withdrawn and destroyed, provided it can be reliably identified, and provided that so doing does not cause any risk to you. This project will be carried out according to the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) produced by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. This statement has been developed to protect the interests of people who agree to participate in human research studies. The ethical aspects of this research project have been approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of RMIT University. Whom should I contact if I have any questions? If you have any questions about the project, you can contact the researchers by emailing Lauren Burns at [email protected] or calling Prof Marc Cohen on +61 3 9925 7440 or [email protected]. Further information is available from the Ethics Executive Officer, RMIT Human Research Ethics Committee on 9925 2251. Thank you for taking the time to read this document. Yours sincerely,

Lauren Burns Professor Marc Cohen BHSc (Naturopathy), Olympic Gold Medallist 2000 Project Supervisor: Professor of Masters candidate Complementary Medicine, School of Health Sciences, RMIT University School of Health Sciences, RMIT University


176

Consent Form

Title A study of the lifestyles and mindset of elite athletes

Chief Investigator/Senior Supervisor

Dr Marc Cohen. Professor of Complementary Medicine, School of Health & Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, [email protected], +61 3 9925 7440

Associate Investigator(s)/Associate Supervisors

Dr Liza Oates. School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, [email protected] 0412 310390

Research Student(s)

Lauren Burns. Masters student, School of Health & Biomedical Sciences, [email protected]

Acknowledgement by Participant I have read and understood the Participant Information Sheet. I understand the purposes, procedures and risks of the research described in the project. I have had an opportunity to ask questions and I am satisfied with the answers I have received. I freely agree to participate in this research project as described and understand that I am free to withdraw at any time during the project without affecting my relationship with RMIT. I understand that I will be given a signed copy of this document to keep.

Name of Participant (please print)

Signature Date

Declaration by Researcher†

I have given a verbal explanation of the research project, its procedures and risks and I believe that the participant has understood that explanation.

Name of Researcher† (please print)

Signature Date

† An appropriately qualified member of the research team must provide the explanation of, and information concerning, the research project. Note: All parties signing the consent section must date their own signature.


177

Appendix 3: ASEHAPP 15-16 COHEN-BURNS Approval Letter


178

Appendix 4: Interview Script

What are the similarities and distinctions in lifestyle practices and mindset of Elite

Athletes?

RESEARCHER USE ONLY

Date: _____________________ Appointment time _________________________

Athlete’s name: ______________________________________________________

Email address: ________________________________ Age:__________________

Skype # _______________________ Phone number: ______________________

Suburb: ______________ State: ___________ Country: ____________________

Thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview. The purpose of this

project is to identify the key lifestyle practices and other factors such as training and

preparation that contribute to podium performances in elite level competition. We aim

to assess the similarities within this group of elite performers along with unique

individualized practices.

Please note that your answers are completely anonymous and won’t be passed on

to any other parties.

Can I confirm that you have received the ‘Project Information Statement’? If not, can

I ask you to read it now, before we proceed?

Do you have any questions you would like to ask about the study?

Do I have your verbal consent to be interviewed?

SPORTING BACKGROUND

This section of the interview aims to find out about your achievements and

background in your sport.

1. What is your sport?

2. What is the highest level of competition you have achieved?

3. How many years have you been competing at senior international level?


179

4. How old were you when you started your sport?

5. At your peak, how many hours per day did you train?

6. Please outline what is your typical training regimen in the months leading up

to a competition?

7. Did you have any ‘extra-curricular’ training activities you implemented that

were separate to the set team training program? (eg yoga, walking,

meditation, running, Pilates, dance, spin, aerobics etc)

8. How many months in a year would you spend travelling (both domestic &

international)?

9. Did you have any medical conditions that needed to be monitored while you

were training/competing? (diabetes, HIV, asthma, hypertension etc)

10. Have you had any injuries during your career? And how did you deal with

them?

PSYCHOLOGICAL

The next section of the interview aims to find out about more about your mental

preparation and motivation.

11. To what do you attribute your success? (factors: (external eg contextual,

environmental) and/or personal (internal eg athlete attributes, skills)

12. What motivated you to want to compete at this level?

13. How much planning and preparation did you do leading up to a major event?

14. How did you study your opponents?


180

15. What do you think gave you the edge?

16. How did you stay motivated during tough times?

17. Did you include video analysis (of your own performances and your

competitors) as part of your preparation?

18. How do you rate your ability to cope and adapt with changing circumstances?

19. How mentally tough (strong) did you feel on the day of competition?

20. Did you feel external pressure leading in to your competition day? (from

coach, sponsors, peers, parents etc)

21. If yes, how did you deal with/negotiate this pressure?

22. What would you advocate that other athletes do or focus on mentally to assist

their developmental journey and performance?

LIFESTYLE AND SUPPORT

The next section of the interview aims to find out about the influence and support of

the people around you and some of the lifestyle practices you incorporated into your

routine.

23. Do you have someone in your life who makes you laugh?

24. Who provided you with support during the hard times of your sporting career?

25. How would you describe your relationship with your coach?

26. What role did your support team play in your success? (coach, sports

psychologist, strength coach, physio etc)

27. Do you regularly see a sports psychologist?

a) If yes, what specific areas do you work on together?


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b) How do you incorporate these techniques prior, during and after

competition?

28. Do you practice visualisation?

a) If yes, how often and in what detail?

b) How did you learn to visualize?

c) How much of an impact do you think it has on your performance?

d) Can you talk me through a typical visualization routine?

29. Do you practice mindfulness?

a) If yes, how often and can you describe your practice.

b) How did you learn to practice mindfulness?

c) How much of an impact do you think it has on your performance?

30. Can you describe your routine on the day of competition?

a) Do you have a specific ritual or routine that you adhere to?

31. What personal characteristics were paramount to your success?

32. How did you react in situations when things didn’t go to plan?

33. What did you say to yourself in the moments prior to competition and during

the event?

34. How do you think your thoughts affected your result?

35. How did you control your nerves?

36. Did you have regular massage?

a) If yes, how often

b) Did you have remedial and relaxation or both?

37. As part of your preparation did you see a Naturopath, Herbalist,

Acupuncturist, Nutritionist, Dietician, Kinesiologist or other complementary

health practitioner?

a) If yes, how often?

b) What was your assistance?

38. Can you describe your daily diet during a pre-competition and competition

day?

a) Was this diet something you worked out for yourself or set specifically by a

nutritionist or dietician?

39. As part of your diet did you ever choose/buy organic food?

a) If yes, why?

b) What percentage on average, was organic?

40. Do you have any specific dietary requirements? (vegetarian, vegan, coeliac,

gluten free)


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41. What fluids did you consume as part of your training and competition? (water,

isotonic drinks, red bull, caffeine)

BALANCE

42. What did you do to relax when you weren’t training or competing?

43. Did you have any specific treats, rituals, or rewards?

44. What specific recovery tools did you use? (sauna, plunge pool, ice bath,

hot/cold, walking, stretching)

45. Did you ever include Progressive Muscle Relaxation (or other specific

relaxation techniques) in your training program?

46. Are you on technology often? (Facebook, Instagram, twitter etc)

a) How do you manage your time with this? (eg do you use it less when

competing?)

b) Do you feel any pressures being on social media?

HOME

47. Where did you live while you were training? (at home with parents/out of

home)

48. Were you working whilst you were training (how many hours p/week?) or were

you fully funded?

49. Were chemicals such as air fresheners or insect repellent used in your home?

50. Was there any mould in your house? (to the best of your knowledge)

51. Was the meter box on your house on the outside of your bedroom wall?

52. Did you live on a main road?

53. Do you sleep with your mobile phone or computer by your bed?

54. Do you have wifi in your house?

a) If yes, does this include your bedroom?

55. Would you be happy to be interviewed again for future research in this area?

56. Any other comments?

Thank you for your time.


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Appendix 5: Representative Quotes from Athletes

Psychological Attributes

Superior Self-Regulation Athletes possessed high cognitive competence enabling them to maximise learning and performance opportunities continually honed through self-reflection and self-awareness of their strengths and limitations. They were meticulous with planning and preparation and adept at problem-solving and proactively seeking and experimenting with potential solutions, which enhanced their self-efficacy, confidence, resilience and dominance.

AIF1 comments: There are three things that I attribute to my success. Vision, a real clear sense of what I want. Courage, to keep getting up and fighting, courage to surround myself with the right people and put my hand up and ask for help; and resilience to keep getting up, because I failed a lot more than I succeeded.

Intrinsic Motivation Strong intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic reward and recognition was clearly evident. A hunger for self-challenge and being the best was common, along with a connection to something meaningful.

AIF2 shared: My earliest memory of what drove me to run was just feeling happy when I ran. I felt so, free …so untouchable. I was never the type of person who needed to be watched. I didn't need to have an audience. I just took off and it was like I'd left everything or everybody behind me. It made me happy to take notice of nature.

Effective Visualisation & Imagery Strategies All athletes incorporated and heavily relied on mental rehearsal and visualisation as a preparatory strategy or way to refine their sporting skills, sharing their preferred approaches, experimentation with different perspectives, and engaging their senses.

AIF4 revealed: I visualised myself from a judge’s perspective, from a helicopter angle and in my own eyes what I see. It takes a lot of skill to be able to do that and get it to play the right images and not negative ones or crashing. When I sat in the wheelchair (due to injury), that's all I did, visualise, even my body healing. I used to visualise myself at the gym and doing everything that I couldn't do…it's just training smarter.

Reliance on Faith, Routines or Rituals All athletes utilised routines, however some maintained they purposely refrained from superstitions or religious faith whereas others followed these fastidiously.

AIF3 responded: It gives me strength. It helped me a lot to let go of superstitions. It’s sort of like everything’s predestined. Everything’s going to turn out the way it's supposed to. Believing in God and doing my prayers, it settles me and it's important for me. ATF4 said: I think it's more important to believe in yourself than to believe in something else. Maybe by believing in something else that helps somebody believe in themselves more, fantastic if that's the way they want to be, but I just learned to believe in myself.


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Strong Work Ethic

Independent rigor and meticulousness in preparation and actively seeking out and engaging with knowledge or experts to assist in their training, performance or recovery was applied by all athletes. Considerable time and effort in seeking, experimenting with, and honing potential strategies and solutions and placing themselves in uncomfortable situations (e.g., tough competition or training) in order to challenge themselves further was evident.

Preparation was important to AT/IM2: I religiously got ready the night before so when I woke up the next morning everything was in place. I’d come home from the last practice session and the next morning was the comp, the first thing I would do is get everything ready. All the physical things I had the control over. I was very regimented like that. AT/IM1 describes his process before a competition: Shaving down. You know what it's like to get into sheets. It just feels great. The same with the water. It’s more to do with the sensory side of how that feels, it heightens your awareness of the water and where it's moving and you feel like you're going through silk. That was end of the training phase, and then I'm straight into competition mode. Nine times out of 10, I knew the outcome.

Self-Confidence & Dominance Self-assurance resounded strongly across all athletes and much of this confidence developed as a result of accrued experience in both training and competition.

When asked ‘how mentally strong did you feel on the day of competition?’ AIF 1 responded: Unbeatable, most of the time. AIF 4 was asked if she studied her opponents: I didn't study anybody. I figured they were studying me. I never ever wasted the time in thinking about anybody else, ever.

Effective Coping Strategies & Positive Mindset

Mental strength and competition experience were used to enhance the athletes’ ability to cope with and adapt to changing circumstances. Whilst all athletes faced differing levels of adversity through seemingly negative chance events, their ability to cope through adopting a pragmatic yet calm, confident and methodical approach was evident. Some athletes had minimal or virtually no injuries, whereas others had life-changing injuries that culminated in major operations, extensive rehabilitation and modification of their training program. The Paralympians who had rehabilitation and management as a result of their impairment and the athletes who suffered major injuries all showed incredible mental fortitude and positivity, with a big picture attitude and clear goals that helped their rehabilitation and resilience.

ATF4 describes her response after a career-changing knee injury: Instead of just going, “Well, just wait and see what happens” I put a plan together. I put dates on it, then when I couldn't do one thing, I'd miss it and go to the next one. Because it was written on a ball, it was in front of me every single day, it was a reminder; “This is what I'm going for.” It wasn’t something that was deep in the back of my mind, it kept me accountable to do the work, to do the rehab, to keep trying, pushing to the next step. Then other people saw it and we talked about it. They'd come into the house and see the ball and we'd chat about it. So that was good, by having the goal out there, it helped people support me.


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Maximising Training & Performance Opportunities All athletes described getting the most out of their training, initiated either by the coach or the athletes. Many attributed embracing rigorous competition exposure as a contributing factor to their success.

AT/IM2 recommends seeking competition exposure: There are a lot of good practice people out there, a very small percentage of good competitors. You can learn it, but you've got to be put under pressure. Just find me competitions with pressure. Lots of competition. That's what I've always told people. Get as much competition as you physically can get and then find some more, because the more times you are exposed to pressure the better you get. A lot of people don’t like competition, they like to train a lot but when they get to a big competition it then becomes foreign.

Effective Utilisation of Sports Science A variety of sports science methods were used, including monitoring breathing patterns with heart rate monitors, individualised sports specific exercises and urine testing to monitor hydration. Video analysis was common across all athletes, either self-initiated or via their coaching and sports-science team. A variety of methods were used, including analysis of their own and their competitors’ techniques and strategies. Utilisation of the latter was sport dependent e.g., sports featuring strategic interaction with opponents relied on this feedback. Contrastingly, sports without this interaction used video analysis to study their own performance rather than their opponents.

AT/IM2 describes working with a sports scientist from the VIS: We worked on a technique through breathing that in the 10 seconds before you actually shot. Your heart rate had to be on a decline. You had to be able to drop at 10 beats per minute in that 10 seconds and we worked out through breathing, exactly how to do it. I think it was world-breaking. I shot so many targets with a heart rate monitor on. 10 seconds, the 10 seconds before you shoot, is the only time you need to be concentrating or getting your breathing right. You really concentrate on hearing yourself exhale and just by doing that it distracts your mind from the pressure of the competition. When you're under extreme pressure you tend to think negative thoughts, when you're concentrating on your breathing it just puts this little man in your head to sleep because he's got nothing to do. If he's concentrating and listening to your breathing, he's not telling you you're about to miss the next target and you're not going to win the Olympic final.

Physical Therapies & Recovery Physical therapies and recovery strategies were heavily utilised, in particular: massage, sleep and water-immersion therapy, which was mostly in the form of ice-baths and hot/cold showers and was practiced by all athletes except one who competed in an ocean-water sport. All athletes attributed improved recovery, decreased muscle-stiffness and less injuries to the practice, some also reported ice-baths induced a meditative state that put them ‘in the moment’.

PI/TM1 shares: One thing that I took from that is the importance of being present. If you're going to get an ice bath, don’t put your toe in it to feel if it's cold. It's an ice bath, it's going to be cold. When you immerse yourself in the present and you feel that blood run through your veins, it's a special thing to be so in tune just being you and going, “Wow, feel those pins and needles splash over me, feel what this is like to be here, yup,” By doing that mentally it connects you with physically what you're doing and, again, you mentally get recharged.


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Having the Right Support Team All athletes mentioned a significant person in their life who was influential and supportive in their sporting career. This person varied from parent, team-mate, partner or someone within the athletes’ support team (coach, masseur or physiotherapist), yet they were all highly valued for their ability to share a laugh and helped the athletes unwind, relax and feel removed from the pressures of training and competition.

AIF4 described the influence of a talent scout: It was like I felt if I just rubbed him I'd feel better. Just standing next to him I felt so much confidence. So, sports psych, partner, scout and my coaches, that were the four people I would say that I needed. ATF5 commented: Our physio is the only female in the program. We think that there should be another female but there's not at the moment, so it's quite refreshing having her.

The Athlete-Coach Partnership

Athletes reported the most valued support from their coach was not technical but inter-personal and relational (e.g., emotional support and encouragement, open and honest communication and strong rapport). Some athletes also acknowledged the paramount importance of their coach’s technical ability.

AT/IM2 talks about the role of a coach being more than just technical: The coach that I had in my best years was an Italian guy, he was an Olympic medallist in his own right and fully understood coaching doesn’t stop until you go to bed at night. Because he'd become a part of your life, he's nearly a part of your family. Then they become good coaches and they become a dual role of a coach and a manager. I think at the top level, you don’t need a technical coach. We've worked out what we need to do. It's what’s going on in your brain will determine how you shoot. And that's often all you need, distract you, just keep you calm, keep you calculated, give you confidence. PI/TM2 shares: He’d never coached anyone with a disability, so he probably didn't know where to start expect I know a friend had the discussion with him about if he would take me on, and he was like, “Oh, I never had anyone with a disability.” And she was like, “… just treat him like another athlete. He'll be fine.” And once he did that, once he made that conscious decision that if I was down on the ground, about to spew and I had another rep to go, and if it was another athlete in the squad he'd kind of kick him on the leg a bit and say, “Hey, get up, you've got another one to go,” once he kind of did that with me I was kind of like, “Yes, great,” because the last thing I wanted was a coach that would say, “Oh yeah, but it's okay, you've got one arm.”

Lifestyle Practices

Nutrition & Hydration Only one athlete was in a weight division sport, yet most were conscious of maintaining a ‘competition weight’. All athletes saw a Nutritionist or Sports Dietician at some point during their career. Despite this, the area of diet, performance-nutrition and hydration practices varied. Athletes who competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, shared a deeper understanding of nutritional demands, which was reflected in the complexity of their diet regimen. Other athletes who had competed earlier, were under the guidance of nutritionists who recommended strategies that have now been expanded and/or superseded. Other athletes either forged their own path, seeking to go against the norm of nutritional advice of the day, or had little nutritional understanding. Athletes with long


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careers (e.g., over a 20-year span), noted stark changes in their nutritional knowledge over their career.

All athletes revealed that they drank water for hydration and most didn’t drink coffee. Consumption of sports drinks varied; some never consumed them, some had them regularly and others only drank them on competition days. AT/IM2 says: The best was sending a dietitian/nutritionist. They used to do all the urine tests for hydration, which was important because you're out in the hot weather. Every morning and every night we did a urine test. I was always conscious of my competing weight. I always tried to be the same weight. The guns are made for you're a certain weight and when you lose or put on weight the first thing you do is put it on your face, and that makes a big difference. If you lose it quickly, your face changes and it changes where your gun shoots. These are $40,000 guns made so it shoots perfectly every time. AT/IM1 was very organised in his meal preparation: As a general rule, I would make sure my plate was colourful. A combination of good carbs with protein and fat. I ate more fat than what a lot of the other athletes were eating. Like seeds and nuts. I kind of disagreed with the high-carb thing, refined carbohydrates from pastas and rice. I want to sustain energy, so that's what I tried to do with diet. Listening to my body.

Utilisation of Complementary Therapies

Having regular massage was deemed critical to an athletes’ preparation due to the physical benefits and as a means of mentally debriefing with the trusted masseur. Other complementary practices relied upon included: plyometrics, yoga, meditation, acupuncture, osteopathy, kinesiology, chiropractic, naturopathy and nutrition.

AIF 1: I realize that my behaviors were as inconsistent as my mindset. I'd be bitching about my weight and then I'd reward myself for a workout with apple pie or cheesecake. I didn't have enough discipline. I had a naturopath. I met him after I won my sixth world title, he's played an instrumental role in keeping me alive. A lot of herbal remedies. Musashi, Magnesium. Vitamin C. Vitamin B.

Importance of Time Out

All athletes had their own way of switching off, ‘escaping’ and creating balance between rest and relaxation and the rigors of training and competition. These strategies included taking a bath, shopping, catching up with friends, interacting with nature, watching movies, reading and listening to music.

AIF4 described how she would relax: Movies and get into bed … You're watching a movie – it's escapism, you're lying down, you're warm, you actually feel safe, not dying right now. You're not going to kill yourself going off a jump at 70K an hour.


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Appendix 6: Supportive interpersonal relationships – a key component to high-performance sport


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Appendix 7: PIS LEAP Survey

Participant Information Sheet/Consent Form Project Title: Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers (LEAP) Survey

Investigators:

o Ms Lauren Burns (PhD student, School of Health & Biomedical Sciences,

RMIT [email protected])

o Professor Stephen Bird (Project Supervisor, School of Health & Biomedical

Sciences, RMIT University, [email protected])

o Professor Marc Cohen (Co-investigator, School of Health & Biomedical


o Dr Juanita Weissensteiner (Co-investigator, New South Wales Office of Sport

Juanita. [email protected])

About this project and research statement

You are invited to participate in a research project being conducted at RMIT

University. The purpose of this project is to explore the importance and contribution

of lifestyle practices to athlete development, well-being and sporting performance.

The findings of this research will be used to inform and refine current education

approaches and resources, and related strategy and supporting pathways for

athletes, their coaches, parents and other support agents. The research is being

conducted at RMIT University, and the research team includes former international

athletes who have an interest and insight into these issues. The study is in the form

of an on-line survey with the topic areas being informed directly by earlier findings

emanating from members of this research team. A summary of this work is attached

for further information (Burns et.al.152)

What is the project about? The purpose of this project is to identify the key lifestyle practices and other factors

such as training and preparation of elite level athletes. We aim to identify similarities

and nuances within lifestyle habits of podium performers. The findings of this

research will be used to help assist athletes, coaches and sporting organisations

identify lifestyle practices and supporting strategies that may contribute to sporting

success.

If I agree to participate, what will I be required to do? You will be asked to read this statement before proceeding to the online survey (link

provided at the end of this statement) and answering a series of questions. It is

anticipated that this survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.

What are the risks or disadvantages associated with participation? While we do not anticipate that the survey questions are stressful, in the event that

you experience discomfort please contact Lauren Burns

[email protected]. You can suspend or end your participation at any

time.


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What are the benefits associated with participation? We cannot guarantee you will receive any immediate direct personal benefits;

however, you may appreciate contributing to knowledge and you will have access to

the published results of this study, which we hope will benefit athletes in the near

future.

What will happen to the information I provide? Anonymity and confidentiality is assured and no identifying information you share will

be used publicly. The overall results will be published in the scientific literature and

no individual will be identifiable from the publication. A summary of the published

results will be available on the survey website.

What are my rights as a participant? Participation in this research project is voluntary and you are entitled to withdraw

your participation at any time prior to your submission of the online survey. Once you

have clicked on the submit button at the end of the survey, we will not be able to

withdraw your responses, as we are not able to identify which responses came from

you.

Whom should I contact if I have any questions? You can seek more information about the project by emailing Lauren Burns

[email protected] or calling Professor Stephen Bird +61 3 9925 7257

What other issues should I be aware of before deciding whether to participate? This survey uses the internet, which is an insecure public network. Once the survey

is completed, data will be imported to the RMIT server where it will be stored

securely for a period of seven (7) years. The data on the host server will then be

deleted and expunged.

Your Consent Because of the on-line and anonymous nature of data collection, we are not

obtaining written informed consent from you. Instead, if you are over 18yrs we will

assume that you have given consent if you submit the completed survey.

If you have received this request as a parent of an athlete aged less than 18 years

and are happy for them to complete the survey: your forwarding of this information

and the link to the survey to your child will be deemed as your consent for your child

to participate.

Thank you for taking the time to read this document carefully. Upon completing the

survey, you can provide your email address to enter the draw to win a $200 Amazon

voucher. Your email address will not be linked to your survey responses.

If you have any questions, please contact the investigators at the above address.

Yours sincerely,

Lauren Burns Professor Stephen Bird BHSc (Naturopathy) Research Group Leader, Preventative & PhD student Integrative Healthcare. School of Health & Biomedical Sciences School of Health & Biomedical Sciences RMIT University RMIT University


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Further information is available from the Ethics Executive Officer, RMIT Human

Research Ethics Committee on 9925 2251.

1. Burns L WJ, Cohen M. Lifestyles and mindsets of Olympic, Paralympic and world

champions: is an integrated approach the key to elite performance? British Journal of Sports Medicine 2018 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-099217

Any complaints about your participation in this project may be directed to the

Executive Officer, RMIT Human Research Ethics Committee, Research &

Innovation, RMIT, GPO Box 2476V, Melbourne, 3001. Details of the complaints

procedure are available at: http://www.rmit.edu.au/governance/complaints/research


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Appendix 8: SEHAPP 72-18 BIRD-BURNS Approval Letter Copy


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Appendix 9: NSO Information Sheet

NSO Information Sheet Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers (LEAP) Survey Investigators:

o Ms. Lauren Burns (PhD student, School of Health & Biomedical Sciences,

RMIT [email protected])

o Professor Stephen Bird (Project Supervisor, School of Health & Biomedical


o Professor Marc Cohen (Co-investigator, School of Health & Biomedical


To Whom it May Concern,

You are invited to participate in a research project being conducted at RMIT

University. Informed directly by the findings emanating from Burns et.al.152 the

purpose of this project is to explore the importance and contribution of lifestyle

practices to athlete development, well-being and sporting performance. The findings

of this research will be used to inform and refine current education approaches and

resources and related strategy and practice supporting pathway athletes, their

coaches, parents and other support agents.

Your commitment would involve forwarding the attached ‘Letter to Athletes’ from

Lauren which contains the Survey Link, to your database of athletes through email or

social media channels encouraging their participation to complete the survey.

Athletes required for the survey are contemporary athletes e.g. have competed

within the last 10 years and meet the following requirements: athletes who have competed at State level or above within the past 10 years.

The survey will be open from 17th December 2018 – 15th March 2019 and will need

to be completed within this window. In return, we will share with you the main

findings from the study to assist in informing your current strategy and practice. A

summary of the published results will be available on the survey website.

The survey responses are anonymous and confidential and no identifying

information will be used publicly. The overall results will be published in the scientific

literature no identifying information will be published in this paper. Participation in this

research project is voluntary and athletes are entitled to withdraw their participation

at any time by not continuing with the survey.


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If you would like more information about the project, please email or call Lauren

Burns [email protected] 0438308688 or call Professor Stephen Bird

+61 3 9925 7257. This survey has been approved by the RMIT Human Ethics

Committee (SEHAPP 72-18 BIRD-BURNS CHEAN)

Yours sincerely,

Lauren Burns Professor Stephen Bird BHSc (Naturopathy) Research Group Leader, Preventative & PhD student Integrative Healthcare. School of Health & Biomedical Sciences School of Health & Biomedical Sciences RMIT University RMIT University

Further information is available from the Ethics Executive Officer, RMIT Human

Research Ethics Committee on 9925 2251.


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Appendix 10: Letter of Support and Email Sent from the AOC


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Dear NSO,

Taekwondo Olympic gold medallist, Lauren Burns is currently researching the link

between lifestyle practices and high performance in elite sport, as part of her PhD at

RMIT University.

Following her recent research highlighting the importance of lifestyle, relationships,

psychological and performance factors in elite sport, Lauren is conducting a national

survey of elite athletes. She now needs your support to ensure as many athletes as

possible within your sport complete the survey so that the results are relevant to you.

This research will produce information that will assist you and your athletes plan for

future success. For more information see attached NSO information sheet.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU: • Please forward the letter from Lauren (containing the link to the survey) to all

athletes within your sport who have competed at State level or above, in the past 10 years.

• Please contact Lauren Burns via email ([email protected]) to provide

the number of athletes who fit this criteria. This will allow the researchers to

calculate a response rate and determine how representative the sample is.

Thank you for your support in assisting the success of Australian athletes.

Daniel Kowalski

on behalf of the Australian Olympic Committee


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Appendix 11: Letter of Invitation from Lauren to Athletes

Dear Athlete,

As an Olympic Gold Medallist, I have wondered what lifestyle practices and mindset

strategies support championship performance. As part of my PhD I have developed

this survey to help you identify the factors that may support or inhibit your sporting

success.

To do this, I need your participation and the help of other elite athletes in completing

the following survey.

You have been chosen because you have competed at State level (or above), in your sport within the last 10 years.

Your participation will help identify practices to enhance your sporting success.

Thanks in advance,

Lauren

Begin Survey HERE


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Appendix 12: LEAP Survey

The Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers (LEAP) Survey

Start of Block: Default Question Block

Welcome ! The following survey has been designed to gather your perspectives

and experiences in relation to lifestyle factors and strategies that may contribute to

enhancing athlete development and performance. Your input is highly valued and

will help to better inform future support and lifestyle support services provided to

athletes. When completing the survey please take the time to answer each question

openly and honestly. Your responses will remain anonymous and confidential.

Please make sure you download the Participant Information Statement (PDF)

here (link) and confirm you have read the document to continue. Yes, I have read the

document and wish to continue No, I do not wish to participate further As an athlete

you have been invited to participate in this survey, completion of this survey is

voluntary and should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. If you choose not

to complete this study, this will not affect your relationship with your National

Sporting Organisation. Individual responses will not be send each sport, therefore

your NSO will not know whether you have completed the survey or not. If you do

participate, you will be de-identified and no identifying information will be used in the

results of this survey.

Thank you for your participation.

Please tell us about you Q1 What is your date of birth? ________________________________________________________________ Q2 What is your gender?

o Male (1)

o Female (2) Q3 Postcode of current address? _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________


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Q4 What is the highest level of education you have completed?

o No formal schooling or qualifications (1)

o School only (Primary or Secondary) (2)

o Trade Certificate (Certificate I, II, III, IV, or nfd) (3)

o Diploma/Advanced Diploma (4)

o Tertiary (Undergraduate) eg Bachelor Degree (5)

o Tertiary (Postgraduate) e.g. Graduate Diploma, or Graduate Certificate, Masters, PhD (6)

o Other (7) ________________________________________________ Q5 What is your current status?

o At secondary school (1)

o At University (2)

o Employed full time (3)

o Employed part time (4)

o Unemployed (5)

o Other (6) ________________________________________________ Q6 On average how many hours of paid work do you undertake each week? ▼ No paid work (1) ... More than 38hrs (7) Q7 What sport/s do you compete in? ________________________________________________________________ Q8 Please indicate if you are able-bodied athlete or an athlete with a disability

o I am able-bodied (1)

o I have a disability (2)


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Q9 What language do you speak at home?

o No formal schooling or qualifications (1)

o School only (Primary or Secondary) (2)

o Trade Certificate (Certificate I, II, III, IV, or nfd) (3) Q9 Do you speak a language other than English at home?

o Yes (1)

o No (2) Q10 Do you identify yourself as being an aboriginal/indigenous Australian?

o Yes (1)

o No (2) Q11 Please indicate if you are able-bodied athlete or an athlete with a disability

o I am able-bodied (1)

o I have a disability (2) Q12 Please indicate the number and type of podium performances you have had in the past 10 years?

State Title (1)

National Championships (2)

International Benchmark event (3)

World Cup (4)

World Championships (5)

Olympic Games (6)

Paralympic Games (7)

Gold (Senior) (1)

Gold (Junior) (2)

Silver (Senior) (3)

Silver (Junior) (4)

Bronze (Senior) (5)

Bronze (Junior) (6)


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Q13 Please indicate the number and type of podium performances you have had in the past 10 years?

State Title (1)

National Championships (2)

International Benchmark event (3)

World Cup (4)

World Championships (5)

Olympic Games (6)

Gold (Senior) (1)

Gold (Junior) (2)

Silver (Senior) (3)

Silver (Junior) (4)

Bronze (Senior) (5)

Bronze (Junior) (6)

Q14 Click to write the question text ▼ Click to write Choice 1 (1) ... Click to write Choice 10 (10) Q15 Do you smoke?

o Never (1)

o Occasionally (2)

o Regularly (3) Q16 How often would you drink alcohol?

o Never (1)

o A few times a week (2)

o A few times a month (3)

o A few times a year (4) Q17 Please indicate the number of hours per day on average you spend on the following activities?

Please indicate or many hours (1) Train in the lead up to a competition? (1) Train throughout the year? (2) Compete during competition? (3)

Q18 Please indicate the number of hours per day on average you spend on the following activities?

Please indicate or many hours (1) Train in the lead up to a competition? (1) Train throughout the year? (2) Compete during competition? (3)


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Q19 How many weeks in a year do you spend travelling

1-5 (1) 5-10 (2) 10-15 (3) 15-20 (4) 20-25 (5) 25-35 (6) More than 35 (7)

Domestically (1) Internationally (2)

Q20 Click to write the question text ________________________________________________________________ Q21 Click to write the question text ________________________________________________________________ Q22 Do you need to make a weight division for your sport? If yes, is this weight division

o 1-2kg below your normal weight? (1)

o 5kg below your normal weight? (2)

o 6-8kg below your normal weight? (3)

o 10+kg below your normal weight (4) Q23 Do you ever use the following methods to help achieve a desired weight?

Never (1) Regularly (few times a month) (2)

Often (few times a week) (3)

Only prior to competing (4)

Sauna (1) Running (2) Skipping (3) Sports specific exercise (4) Walking (5)


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Q24 If you use these methods to make weight, how long before an event do you begin?

< 1hr (1) 2-3hrs (2) 4-5hrs (3) 6-8hrs (4) the day before (5)

4 days before or >

(6) Sauna (1) Running (2) Skipping (3) Sports specific exercise (4)

Walking (5) Q25 Please outline your key strategies (e.g., refuelling, rehydrating) following weigh-in ________________________________________________________________ Q26 Do you ever utilise the services the following practitioners?

Never (1) Occasionally (few times a

year) (2)

Regularly (few times a month)

(3) Often (4)

Click to write Scale point 5

(5)

Acupuncturist (1)

Dietician /Nutritionist (2)

Chiropractor (3)

Family GP (4) Massage therapist (5)

Myotherapist (6)

Naturopath / Herbalist (7)

Osteopath (8) Physiotherapist (9)

Sports psychologist (10)

Sports Medicine Doctor (11)

Other (12)


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Q27 How did you find out about this practitioner? Were they referred to you by:

Your

Coach (1)

Sports Science Sports

Medicine (2)

Teammate (3)

Parent (4)

Friend (5)

Myself (6) Other (7)

Acupuncturist (1)


Chiropractor (3)

Family GP (4)

Massage therapist (5)

Myotherapist (6)


Osteopath (8)

Physiotherapist (9)



Other (12)


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Q28 What were the effect of the services offered by these practitioners?

Considerable benefit (1)

Slight benefit (2)

No benefit or harm (3)

Slight harm (4)

Considerable harm (5)

Acupuncturist (1)


Chiropractor (3)

Family GP (4)

Massage therapist (5)

Myotherapist (6)


Osteopath (8)

Physiotherapist (9)



Other (12) Life Outside Sport Q29 Having someone in my life who makes me laugh is important to my success

o Strongly agree (1)

o Agree (2)

o Neutral (3)

o Disagree (4)

o Strongly disagree (5)


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Q30 Having people to support me during my career is important for my success


o Agree (2)

o Neutral (3)

o Disagree (4)

o Strongly disagree (5) Q31 Having an activity to help me relax when I’m not training or competing is important to me?


o Agree (2)

o Neutral (3)

o Disagree (4)

o Strongly disagree (5) Q32 My Coach’s ability to relate to me on a personal level is just as important as their technical ability


o Agree (2)

o Neutral (3)

o Disagree (4)

o Strongly disagree (5)


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Q33 How important are the following people in providing support during my sporting career?

Not Applicable (1)

Not important (2)

Somewhat important (3)

Very important (4)

Extremely Important (5)

Parents (1)

Family members (2)

Spouse (3)

Sibling (4)

Coach (5)

Non-sporting friend (6)

Teammate (7)

Sports Science Sports Medicine (8)

Masseur (9)

Physiotherapist (10)


Sports medicine doctor (12)

Other (13)


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Q34 With this person… Mark all that apply

We can laugh

together (1)

I can let my hair

down (2)

I share my

worries & concerns

(3)

I depend on for my technical prowess

(4)

I depend on for my recovery strategies

(5)

My friendship

goes beyond sport (6)

Helps me find

balance & perspectiv

e (7)

Parents (1)

Family members (2)

Spouse (3)

Sibling (4)

Coach (5)

Non-sporting friend (6)

Teammate (7)

Sports Science Sports Medicine (8)

Masseur (9)

Physiotherapist (10)


Sports medicine doctor (12)

Other (13)


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Recovery, Relaxation and Sleep Q35 Please mark the appropriate box for each of the following activities / practices

Mark all that apply

I don’t do

this activity (1)

I do it because my coach says

so (2)

I do it but I don’t know

why (3)

I do it because it makes me

feel good (4)

I do it because it’s essential for

my performance

(5)

I do it because it’s essential for my recovery

(6)

Visualisation/self-imagery techniques (1)

Mindfulness (2) Meditation (3) Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) (4)

Floatation Tank (5) Hypnosis (6) Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) (7)

Intermittent hypoxic training (8) Yoga (9) Dance (10) Pilates (11) Stretching (guided / PMF) (12) Walking (13) Spa (14) Finnish Sauna (15) Infrared sauna (16) Hot/cold immersion (17) Plunge pool (18) Ice bath (19) Hot/Cold shower (20) Cold water swimming (21) Remedial massage (22) Relaxation massage (23) Electromagnetic Field Therapy (EMF) (24)

Tens machine (25) Other (26)


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Q36 How many hours sleep do you get each night, on average? ▼ less than 4hrs (1) ... more than 9hrs (4) Q37 Please mark the most appropriate statements during a COMPETITION PHASE

Mark all that apply

strongly agree (1) agree (2) neutral (3) disagree (4) strongly

disagree (5) I have no problem sleeping at night (1)

I find taking naps during the day beneficial to my performance (2)

Getting adequate sleep during competition is important for my performance (3)

Tens machine (4)

Q38 Please mark the most appropriate statements during a TRAINING PHASE

Mark all that apply


disagree (5) I have no problem sleeping at night (1)

I find taking naps during the day beneficial to my performance (2)

Getting adequate sleep during competition is important for my performance (3)

Tens machine (4)


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Q39 Do you have any routines to ensure you get adequate sleep whilst you are travelling, away from home etc? ________________________________________________________________ Planning Q40 The following are vital to my success:

Mark all that apply


disagree (5)

Goal setting & Planning (1)

Self-discipline (2)

Mental toughness (3)

Ability to adapt to change (4)

Resilience (5) Ability to recover after injury (6)

Strategic thinking (7)

Ability to create a supportive network (8)

Being a knowledge seeker (9)

Having a daily routine (10)

Problem solving (11)

Being self-aware (12)

Reflection (13) Coping skills (14)

Breathing (15)

Routines (16)

Rituals (17)


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Q41 Diet Q42 Please indicate the type of diet you eat:

Mark all that apply Never (1) Sometimes (2) Regularly (3) Often (4) Vegan (1) Vegetarian (2) Paleo (3) Gluten free (4) Mostly organic (5) Partially organic (6) Not organic (7) Omnivore (8) High Carb (9) Ketogenic (10) High Protein (11) Other (12)

Q43 Does your diet differ when you are training or competing? If yes, please explain. ________________________________________________________________ Q44 How often do you consume the following types of meals:

Mark all that apply

Never (1) Sometimes (2) Regularly (3) Often (4)

Homecooked (1)

Ready-made (purchased from a store or delivery service) (2)

Takeaway (3)

Other (4)


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Q45 I get dietary advice from the following Mark all that apply

Never (1) Sometimes (2) Regularly (3) Often (4)

Unqualified person such as Family, Friend or Teammate (1)

Coach (2) Qualified Dietician or Nutritionist (3)

Qualified Naturopath or Herbalist (4)

Internet (5)

Books (6)

Other (7) Q46 Please indicate the types of drinks you consume

Never (1) Occasionally (2)

1 cup p/day (3)

2 cups p/day (4)

3 cups p/day (5)

4+ cups p/day (6)

Tea (caffeinated) (1)

Herbal tea (2)

Coffee (3) Isotonic drinks (4)

Gatorade (5)

Powerade (6)

Endura (7) Other isotonic drinks (8)

Liquid carbohydrate (9)

Water (10)

Other (11)


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Your Opinions and Feedback Please take the time to share any thoughts and insights, we greatly value your opinions. Q47 What KEY advice/strategies would you advocate for younger athletes? ________________________________________________________________ Q48 Is there anything in your sporting journey so far, that you would have done differently? ________________________________________________________________ Q49 Athletes who have achieved a medal at a benchmark event - why, in your opinion did you succeed compared to their lesser successful counterparts? ________________________________________________________________ Q50 What could be done better to educate and empower athletes regarding their knowledge and effective usage of athlete and lifestyle strategies etc? ________________________________________________________________ Q51 Other comments ________________________________________________________________ End of Block: Default Question Block


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Appendix 13: FTEM (Foundation, Talent, Elite, Mastery) Developmental Framework


221

Appendix 14: The Integrated Performance Health Management and Coaching Model

The Integrated Performance Health Management and Coaching Model, Dijkstra et

al.167


222

Appendix 15: International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research (ICCMR), Abstract


223

Appendix 16: The Holistic Athlete Career Model

The Holistic Athlete Career Model, Wylleman et al.106


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Appendix 17: NSW Office of Sport Impact and Application

The LEAP research has assisted in informing the NSW Office of Sport; Future

Champions Strategy,162 which is aligned with their pathway strategy162 and

compliments current educational initiatives delivered by the NSW Office of Sport

regarding importance of wellbeing and balance and facilitating self-regulation. These

sessions are delivered on behalf of schools, NSW Regional Academies of Sport,

State Sporting Organisations etc. They highlight wellbeing, balance, psychological

skills are key areas which are advocated within TID assessments, Individual Athlete

Performance Plans for emerging athletes, ongoing athlete monitoring and case

management.

Furthermore, related research is currently underway by the NSW Office of Sport

engaging the participant and emerging athlete’s voice – Future Champions

Participant and Athlete Survey and Pathway Healthcheck tools for State Sporting

Organisations and State Sporting Organisations for People with a Disability.


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Appendix 18: List of Publications

1. Burns, L., Weissensteiner, JR., & Cohen, M. Lifestyles and Mindsets of

Olympic, Paralympic and World Champions: Is an Integrated Approach the

Key to Elite Performance? British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018; 53:818-

824. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-099217

Published in Olympic World Library, Olympic Studies Centre:

https://library.olympic.org

2. Burns, L., Weissensteiner, JR., & Cohen, M. Supportive interpersonal

relationships: a key component to high- performance sport. British Journal of

Sports Medicine. 2019; 53(22):1386-1389 doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-100312

3. Burns L., Weissensteiner, JR., & Cohen, M., (2019) Supportive Interpersonal

Relationships – A Key Component to High Performance. ICCMR Conference

Book of Abstracts, Published May 2019 doi:10.1016/j.aimed.2019.03.027


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Appendix 19: Conference Presentations

1. Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Canberra – Winning Pathways. Audience:

Coaches and Administrators from the majority of National Sporting

Organisations, December 2016

2. Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Canberra – Winning Pathways. Audience:

Coaches and Administrators from the majority of National Sporting

Organisations, June 2017

3. NSW Office of Sport / New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS), Sydney

Olympic Park – NSW Sport Pathways, Platforms and Partnerships Workshop,

Focus on Athlete Wellbeing, presenting LEAP Research, October 2017

4. NSW Office of Sport / NSWIS Pathways to High Performance Strategy –

Focus Group Consultation 'Athletes: Complete and supported athletes across

NSW’ 2018

5. International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research (ICCMR).

Pathways and Partnerships – Facilitating collaboration and communication

across disciplines and between researchers and clinicians. Brisbane, May,

2019. Presenting LEAP research specific to interpersonal relationships for

service providers e.g. masseurs, physiotherapists etc. See Appendix 10

6. FEPSAC (European Federation of Sport Psychology), European Congress of

Sport and Exercise Physiology. Presenting LEAP Research summary.

Munster, Germany. July 2019

7. The Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AIS NSW). Heads of Sport

Conference ‘Tackling the Issues in Sport’. Keynote: LEAP. Hunter Valley,

NSW August 2019


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Appendix 20: Business / Community Presentations

1. Sports Tech Innovation Day, Canberra Innovation Network. Audience: sports

tech industry leaders and businesses (start-ups and established), coaches,

students, researchers, physiotherapists, US trade experts. Presentation 1.

Panel discussion on influence of sports technology. 2. Keynote, presenting

LEAP research. Canberra August 2019

2. Association for Proposal Management Professionals - ANZ Conference,

Highlighting LEAP research for a corporate audience. Melbourne August 2019

3. Mooroolbark Umbrella Group. Audience: Mooroolbark community members.

LEAP research summary. Mooroolbark, October 2019

4. State of Wellness Summit. Audience: Women, all walks of life. LEAP research

summary. Geelong, October 2019

5. Ballarat Sports Foundation. Audience: athletes, coaches, stakeholders,

community members. LEAP research summary. Ballarat, November 2019

6. Lara Secondary College. Audience: Year 12 students. LEAP research

summary. January 2020

7. Ray White Real Estate. Audience: RWRE staff. LEAP research summary.

Ferntree Gully, January 2020

8. Macquarie Group. International Women’s Day. Audience: Macquarie Group

Staff. LEAP research summary. Macquarie Group Head Office, Sydney,

March 2020

9. Thriving to Surviving, online virtual event in response to Covid-19, LEAP

research specific to interpersonal relationships mitigating stress. Melbourne,

April, 2020


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Appendix 21: Awards

• RMIT Vice Chancellor’s Prize for Research Impact (HDR), November 2019

• RMIT HDR Candidates Network Publication Prize, 2019

Burns, L., Weissensteiner, JR., & Cohen, M., (2019) Supportive interpersonal

relationships: a key component to high-performance sport.

Lifestyles of Elite Athletic Performers (LEAP)

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