Psycho-Social Factors Determining Success in High-Performance Triathlon: Compared Perception in the Coach-Athlete Pair

Abstract

High-level sport can be analyzed using the complex system model, in which performance is constrained by many factors. Coaches' and athletes' perceptions of important positive and negative factors affecting performance were compared. Participants were 48 high-level international triathletes (n = 34) and their coaches (n = 14). They were personally interviewed via a questionnaire designed by four accredited experts, who selected groups of both positive and negative factors affecting performance. A list of factors was developed, in order of greater to lesser importance in the opinion of athletes and coaches, for subsequent analysis. Two ranked lists (positive and negative factors) indicated that athletes appear to rate personal environment factors (family, teammates, lack of support from relatives) higher, while the coaches tended to give more importance to technical and institutional aspects (institutional support, coach, medical support). There was complete agreement between coaches and triathletes about the top five positive factors. Negative factor agreement was somewhat lower (agreement on 3/5 factors). The most important positive factor for coaches and athletes was "dedication/engagement," while the most important factor adversely affecting performance was "injuries".

Elite Triathlete Profiles in Draft-Legal Triathlons as a Basis for Talent Identification

“…Research on psychological and social factors in triathlon is very scarce, and studies that relate these factors directly to performance are even rarer. The most influential positive factors for triathletes, both males and females, and coaches are dedication/commitment, perseverance, and work willingness [ 77 ]. These authors reported that the main negative factors are the injuries, together with a lack of personal confidence and competitive pressure.…”

The Impact of Cheering on Sports Performance: Comparison of Serie A Statistics Before and During COVID-19

“…We emphasize that the discrepancies mentioned above may depend on the approach adopted to carry out the analysis and the contexts examined. Specifically, (i) the amateur sport could differ substantially from the professional sport when the ability of athletes to respond to external stimuli is concerned [ 13 - 15 ]; (ii) fans' reactions could depend on the sport, season, and even the match or event in question [ 16 ]; (iii) the economic condition of the clubs could affect the performance of athletes [ 17 ]; (iv) supporters can often express disappointment during a match or sporting performance [ 2 ]; and (v) other psychological, social, and cultural variables could unpredictably alter sports performance [ 18 - 20 ]. Since the enormous damage caused by COVID-19 from a psychological point of view falls into the latter category of bias [ 21 , 22 ], it is necessary to interpret all the evidence found with caution.…”

The Explanatory Capacity of Talent Identification Tests for Performance in Triathlon Competitions: A Longitudinal Analysis

“…Despite the fact that these tests are of very similar duration (62.0 ± 4.1 s for S100 and 62.5 ± 5.7 s for R400), the greater explanatory capacity of the swimming test may be related to the influence of speed over the first metres on triathlon performance (Vleck et al, 2008). Another possible explanation for the low predictive capacity of the talent identification tests in relation to performance factors in triathlon is that these tests are exclusively focused on the physiological component, contrary to the proposals of Abbot and Collins (2004), and do not take account of other factors with a higher influence on triathlon performance, such as anthropometric (Ackland et al, 1998;Landers et al, 2013), psycho-social (Ruiz-Tendero andMartin, 2012), mechanical (Bentley et al, 2002;Ofoghi et al, 2016) and tactical factors (Hausswirth et al, 2010;Ofoghi et al, 2016). Nor do they consider one of the distinctive features of triathlon compared to other long-distance cyclical sports: the influence of the preceding discipline on performance in the following segment (Bentley et al, 2007;Delextrat, 2005;Millet and Vleck, 2000).…”