This study examined four Canadian Olympic athletes’ attitudes towards mental training and their implementation strategies before, during, and after the 2012 London Olympics. This study interviewed four athletes who competed at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Athletes were represented from rowing, swimming and track and field. Their interviews were written-up as in-depth narratives to provide a rich, insight into these athletes’ perspectives and unique experiences. The narratives were analyzed individually and were then compared and contrasted across all four. Regarding the current attitudes of the athletes, all athletes interviewed expressed a positive attitude towards mental training. However, they differed in their underlying beliefs as to whether this was a fundamental or supplementary component to their preparation and subsequent performance. Themes that emerged as influencing the development of these attitudes include prior experience and maturity of the athlete. In regards to their implementation methods, the athletes all used mental training but their approach ranged from implementing holistically to a narrower approach. Future research should investigate the different factors that may impact an athletes’ attitude towards mental training such as team versus individual sport, gender, and years of experience. Additionally, exploring what a holistic mental training plan would look like compared to a supplementary approach and whether they result in differences in athlete performance. / Graduate / 0515

This thesis is concerned with the participation of women and girls in the Olympic Games. In these days of women's liberation it seemed appropriate to try to put together the knowledge available about women competitors and their participation in the Olympics. I have tried to set out an overall view with some historical background and then an account leading up to the initial and continuing participation of women in the Games and showing the reasons for the slow beginning and the gradual increase in numbers of competitors and sports. I have also tried to evaluate some well known myths and misconceptions concerning participation and made an attempt with the use of research data to disprove many of these.

Orientador: José Carlos Marques / Resumo: A tese teve como objetivo analisar as representações sociais das mulheres olímpicas brasileiras e estrangeiras, a partir das capas do jornal O Globo Rio e do Caderno Especial Rio 2016, durante os Jogos Olímpicos Rio 2016. A participação das mulheres na Rio 2016 foi um destaque, representando 46% dos atletas inscritos, o maior número de mulheres na história dos jogos, e suscitou vários debates sobre igualdade de gêneros. Vários estudos demonstraram que a cobertura esportiva da mídia tende a privilegiar os homens atletas em detrimento das mulheres, e que as atletas costumam ser muito mais retratadas por sua aparência, roupas e vida pessoal em reportagens sobre esportes, do que pelos seus feitos no esporte. A pesquisa apresenta revisão bibliográfica dos estudos de gênero e representações sociais das mulheres; do jogo como elemento da cultura, da dominação masculina no campo esportivo, história das mulheres nos esportes no Brasil e a trajetória das mulheres nas Olimpíadas. Como metodologia, utiliza-se da Análise Crítica do Discurso, para identificar as construções discursivas e as representações das atletas, nas capas do jornal O Globo e do Caderno Especial Rio 2016. Considera-se que a mídia tem um papel importante na construção de novas representações, oportunizando espaço para as mulheres atletas apresentarem sua inserção na prática de esportes. Os discursos da mídia ensejam uma análise de representações, significados e de aspectos simbólicos relativos às configurações de gêner... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The thesis was aimed at analyzing the social representation of Brazilian and foreign Olympic women from the covers of O Globo Rio newspaper and Rio 2016 Special Section during Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The participation of women in Rio 2016 was a highlight, representing 46% of registered athletes, the largest number of women in the history of games, and has sparked several debates on gender equality. Several studies have shown that sports media coverage tends to favor male athletes rather than female ones, and athletes are often much more portrayed by their appearance, clothing and personal life in sports reports. The research presents bibliographical review related to the studies of gender and social representations of the women; the game as an element of culture; male domination in the sports field, the history of women in sports in Brazil and the trajectory of women in the Olympics. As methodology, it is used the Critical Analysis of Discourse, to identify the discursive constructions and the representations of the athletes, in covers of O Globo newspaper and Rio 2016 Special Section during Rio 2016 Olympic Games. It is considered that the media has an important role in the construction of new representations, giving space for the female athletes to present their insertion in the practice of sports. Media discourses provide an analysis of representations, meanings, and symbolic aspects of gender configurations, since it carries meanings that express power relations, social a... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

It is understood that in order for athletes to perform to their potential consistently they must learn to optimally self-regulate their psychological and physiological states. Yet, the process by which this is accomplished is not well understood. The purpose of this doctoral dissertation was to explore the concept of self-regulation in the Olympic athlete population through the use of biofeedback and neurofeedback. To address this purpose, two studies were conducted. Study One (Article 1) used a quantitative methodology to explore the relationship between Olympic athletes’ overall self-regulation ability and world ranking. Fifteen Olympic level athletes underwent a 9-stage psychophysiological stress assessment to determine each athlete’s ability to return to baseline after a stress load was applied. Findings revealed that there was a significant correlation between the athletes’ overall self-regulation ability and their ranking at the world level, meaning the better the overall self-regulation ability of the athlete the better the world ranking. Study Two (Articles 2 and 3) employed a qualitative methodology and explored what and how five Olympic level athletes learned from participating in a 20 session biofeedback and neurofeedback training intervention. Data was collected from post-intervention interviews with the athletes. In Study Two, Olympic athletes perceived that the biofeedback and neurofeedback training intervention assisted them in learning to improve self-awareness and self-regulation of their physical and mental states enabling them to feel more in control during sport performances. Engaging in active learning exercises, receiving real-time formative feedback, and utilization of the intervention exercises in training and competition environments were how athletes perceived they learned to self-regulate. Together, the findings from the two studies highlight the relevance and intricacies of self-regulation in high performance sport. Overall, the present dissertation makes a contribution to the sport psychology literature particularly with regard to our understanding of the use of biofeedback and neurofeedback for enhancing self-regulation with Olympic athletes. Thus, learning to improve self-regulation skills using biofeedback and neurofeedback training should be an integral part of a comprehensive and holistic approach used by sport psychology practitioners in assisting athletes to perform to their potential.

Background: The authors have observed that Olympic athletes of Team USA supplement their income, or finance themselves entirely, through entrepreneurial opportunities. This study focuses on Olympic Athletes from the United States - with a limitation to members of the US Olympic Rowing Team that competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.  Unbeknownst to many, athletes from Team USA, and Olympians globally, do not receive compensation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete at the Olympic Games. Instead, US Olympians receive a monthly stipend from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) ranging between $1000 to $2000 US Dollars. Provided this information, the authors were interested in identifying whether their financial situation, or any other drivers, made them more likely to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to identify and understand the drivers which led US Olympic athletes to improve their financial situation while on the US Olympic team.  Method: This thesis focuses primarily on qualitative data gathered from interviews with eight members of the United States Olympic Rowing Team who competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. To fulfill our purpose, the authors elected to utilize the explorative study framework, with a purposive sampling and following an inductive reasoning approach. Moreover, the primary data from our interview is collected through semi-structured interviews, which were conducted through (Zoom) virtual video conferencing calls. Findings: From our interviews with members of the US Olympic Rowing Team who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, we have identified six (6) common factors shared amongst our interviewees – leading them to pursue one or more entrepreneurial opportunity/ies. Those common factors were: (1) The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Stipend for athletes does not fully finance their monthly expenditure; (2) the athletes’ recognition of their rising brand value; (3) the unpredictability of their training and competition schedules; (4) the pressure on athletes for professional work experience; (5) an interest in Entrepreneurship; and (6) their requirements for flexible employment. Conclusion: After weighing our findings, the authors would agree that the most compelling driver to pursue entrepreneurship was the need for an additional income to supplement their USOPC Stipend. However, the authors must also add that these drivers cannot be individually held responsible for the pursuance of an entrepreneurial opportunity – to the contrary, the authors would propose that the most reasonable interpretation is that US Olympians are pursuing entrepreneurship as a result of a combination of the aforementioned drivers influencing their lives – as shown by all of our interviewees being affected by three or more of the identified drivers.

L’utilisation de la musique comme outil de préparation mentale est très répandue chez les athlètes olympiques. Cependant, cette pratique a reçu peu d’attention parmi les chercheurs. Ainsi, la présente étude a deux objectifs, soit (a) de recenser les fonctions de la musique dans le contexte sportif et (b) d’explorer les messages véhiculés par les paroles de chansons. Pour ce faire, des entrevues semi-structurées ont été menées auprès de dix athlètes olympiques québécois pratiquant des sports technico-artistiques. De plus, les athlètes ont pris part à une tâche musicale qui consistait à écouter la chanson qui avait le plus fortement marqué leur carrière athlétique et noter tous les souvenirs évoqués par cette chanson. L’analyse des données par théorisation ancrée démontre que les athlètes utilisent la musique comme outil de préparation mentale pour deux raisons principales : (1) pour déclencher ou (2) pour réguler des processus psychologiques tels que la concentration, la visualisation et les émotions, ce qui est bénéfique à la performance sportive. Cependant, si elle n’est pas utilisée de la bonne manière, la musique peut altérer les processus psychologiques et donc nuire à la performance. De plus, l’analyse des paroles des chansons qui avaient le plus fortement marqué la carrière sportive des athlètes indique que le message véhiculé par ces chansons est très similaire d’une chanson à l’autre. Les implications pratiques de l’utilisation de la musique dans les situations sportives et les perspectives pour la recherche future sont discutées. / The use of music as a mental preparation tool is very common amongst Olympic athletes. However, this practice has received little research attention. Thus, the present study has two objectives: (a) to identify the functions of music in a sporting context and (b) to explore the messages conveyed by the lyrics. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten Quebec Olympians practicing technico-artistic sports. In addition, athletes took part in a music task where they listened to the song that most influenced their athletic career and write all the memories evoked by the song. Data analysis by grounded theory demonstrates that athletes use music as a mental preparation tool for two main reasons: (1) to trigger or (2) to regulate psychological processes such as focus, visualization and emotions, which are beneficial to their athletic performances. However, if not used properly music can have a negative effect on these psychological processes and thus impair performance. Furthermore, analysis of the lyrics that most influenced the sport careers of the athletes reveals that the message conveyed by these songs is very similar from one song to another. Practical implications for using music in sport settings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

A escolha do México como cidade sede para os Jogos Olímpicos de 1968 ocorre em um momento em que o mundo se voltava para a corrida espacial, em que as periferias do mundo, vivia o confronto com a violência, com as ditaduras e as guerras genocidas, em que eram testados os produtos da corrida armamentista, incluindo armas químicas, biológicas e mísseis teleguiados. Pela primeira vez na história os Jogos Olímpicos seriam realizados em um país não industrializado, na América Latina, o que despertou controvérsias e manifestações em relação a escolha da cidade sede e aversão dos anglo-saxões. Atletas em sintonia com a juventude de seu tempo, frequentadores de universidades e atentos ao que se passava em seus países, foram aos Jogos não apenas para competir. Eles tinham ideais, posicionamento político e fizeram do esporte um meio para dar visibilidade às suas manifestações. O Brasil vivia sob a ditadura militar com a restrição de direitos civis, fechamento do congresso nacional, mandatos de parlamentares cassados, estabelecimento da censura aos meios de comunicação e inquéritos militares sigilosos. Intimidações, torturas, sequestros, desaparecimentos e mortes marcaram o auge do autoritarismo militar no Brasil. É nesse contexto que a delegação brasileira viaja para os Jogos Olímpicos do México, em 1968. O objetivo desta tese é construir uma narrativa sobre os Jogos Olímpicos do México, de 1968, a partir das sínteses biográficas e das estilhas das narrativas de 54 dos 81 atletas brasileiros participantes desta competição. Essa construção se dá a partir uma discussão sobre os fundamentos teóricos-metodológicos da pesquisa na história oral, das narrativas biográficas e do banco de histórias, onde são encontrados os conceitos de fragmento biográfico e história oral de família / The choice of Mexico as the host city for the Olympic Games in 1968 occurred in a moment in which the world turned to the space race, in which the periphery of the world lived conflict with violence, with the dictatorships and genocide wars, in which arms race products were tested at, including chemical and biological weapons, and guided missiles. For the first time in history, the Olympic Games would be held in a non-industrialized country, in Latin America, which arouse controversy and manifestations related to the chosen host city and aversion to Anglo-Saxons. Athletes tuned with the youth from their time, university goers and those attentive to what was happening in their countries, went to the Games not only to compete. They had ideals, political positioning and made the sport a mean to give visibility to their manifestations. Brazil was under a military dictatorship with civil right restrictions, the closing of the national congress, parliamentary mandates persecuted, the establishment of censorship to the media and secret military inquiries. Intimidations, tortures, kidnappings, disappearances, and death marked the peak of military authoritarianism in Brazil. It is in this context that the Brazilian delegation travels to 1968 Olympic Games of Mexico. The purpose of this thesis is to build a narrative about the Olympic Games of Mexico, through biographical synthesis and narrative chips from 54 of 81 Brazilian athletes that participated in that competition. This construction is based on a discussion about the theoretical-methodological foundations of the research in oral history, biographical narratives, and the history bank, where the concepts of biographical fragment and oral family history

A escolha do México como cidade sede para os Jogos Olímpicos de 1968 ocorre em um momento em que o mundo se voltava para a corrida espacial, em que as periferias do mundo, vivia o confronto com a violência, com as ditaduras e as guerras genocidas, em que eram testados os produtos da corrida armamentista, incluindo armas químicas, biológicas e mísseis teleguiados. Pela primeira vez na história os Jogos Olímpicos seriam realizados em um país não industrializado, na América Latina, o que despertou controvérsias e manifestações em relação a escolha da cidade sede e aversão dos anglo-saxões. Atletas em sintonia com a juventude de seu tempo, frequentadores de universidades e atentos ao que se passava em seus países, foram aos Jogos não apenas para competir. Eles tinham ideais, posicionamento político e fizeram do esporte um meio para dar visibilidade às suas manifestações. O Brasil vivia sob a ditadura militar com a restrição de direitos civis, fechamento do congresso nacional, mandatos de parlamentares cassados, estabelecimento da censura aos meios de comunicação e inquéritos militares sigilosos. Intimidações, torturas, sequestros, desaparecimentos e mortes marcaram o auge do autoritarismo militar no Brasil. É nesse contexto que a delegação brasileira viaja para os Jogos Olímpicos do México, em 1968. O objetivo desta tese é construir uma narrativa sobre os Jogos Olímpicos do México, de 1968, a partir das sínteses biográficas e das estilhas das narrativas de 54 dos 81 atletas brasileiros participantes desta competição. Essa construção se dá a partir uma discussão sobre os fundamentos teóricos-metodológicos da pesquisa na história oral, das narrativas biográficas e do banco de histórias, onde são encontrados os conceitos de fragmento biográfico e história oral de família / The choice of Mexico as the host city for the Olympic Games in 1968 occurred in a moment in which the world turned to the space race, in which the periphery of the world lived conflict with violence, with the dictatorships and genocide wars, in which arms race products were tested at, including chemical and biological weapons, and guided missiles. For the first time in history, the Olympic Games would be held in a non-industrialized country, in Latin America, which arouse controversy and manifestations related to the chosen host city and aversion to Anglo-Saxons. Athletes tuned with the youth from their time, university goers and those attentive to what was happening in their countries, went to the Games not only to compete. They had ideals, political positioning and made the sport a mean to give visibility to their manifestations. Brazil was under a military dictatorship with civil right restrictions, the closing of the national congress, parliamentary mandates persecuted, the establishment of censorship to the media and secret military inquiries. Intimidations, tortures, kidnappings, disappearances, and death marked the peak of military authoritarianism in Brazil. It is in this context that the Brazilian delegation travels to 1968 Olympic Games of Mexico. The purpose of this thesis is to build a narrative about the Olympic Games of Mexico, through biographical synthesis and narrative chips from 54 of 81 Brazilian athletes that participated in that competition. This construction is based on a discussion about the theoretical-methodological foundations of the research in oral history, biographical narratives, and the history bank, where the concepts of biographical fragment and oral family history

Anxiety is one of the most studied research topics in sport psychology literature (Guillen & Sanchez, 2009); however, even though the Olympics are considered to be one of the most pressure-filled sporting events (Birrer, Wetzel, Schmidt, & Morgan, 2012), to date there has been no research aimed specifically at investigating Olympic athletes’ competitive state anxiety and its impact on subsequent performance. Furthermore, according to Nesti (2011), in order to support athletes in dealing with their experience of anxiety, researchers must turn towards the phenomenological, real-lived experience of the athlete to uncover what might best support positive anxiety management and interpretation in competition. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to respond to the gap in Olympic athlete anxiety research by examining the phenomenological experience of competitive state anxiety for female beach volleyball players at the 2012 London Olympics. Six in-depth, phenomenological interviews were conducted with these Olympic female beach volleyball players. Results indicated that, while all athletes in this study experienced anxiety at the 2012 Olympics, it was not the reduced intensity of anxiety that positively impacted their performance but rather the athletes’ ability to recognize, manage, and positively interpret their anxiety. In addition, it was shown that self-confidence further buffered the potentially negative impacts of anxiety. It is recommended that future research focus on extending phenomenological anxiety research to other sports and genders, and to specifically examine the impact of trait anxiety, team dynamics, and the experience of flow on athletes’ anxiety interpretation.