How do athlete's manage the feelings that arise when they fall behind their goals during a race?

What is it about?

When runners and other athletes compete, they often fall behind their goals. In turn, they typically experience negative feelings as a result. Participants in our study described how they managed their negative feelings during a 5km time trial and it was revealed that several coping functions are used during this experience. Notably, athletes focused on maintaining their performance and on recovering positive feelings of goal attainment.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This study used novel methods and analyses to explore an experience that can have a powerful influence on sport experiences.