SportsPsychologist.com Blog by Dr Victor Thompson

With the not-to-surprising news that Paula Radcliffe has withdrawn from the Olympic Marathon due to a foot injury , I thought again about why this happens. For Paula’s fans, it is disappointing – though it will be much more gutting for Paula. Some of our most vivid memories of Paula are of Athens in 2004, where she stopped at the 36Km mark of the Olympic Marathon in floods of tears. Doesn’t it seem obvious to us all that athletes should just avoid becoming injured, when injuries can rule them out of competing at their best, or even competing at all? If this is obvious for us fans, why then don’t athletes ‘get it’? I believe the answer to this is that injuries aren’t always clear to an athlete and important factors get in the way of an athlete managing potential or actual injuries. Plus, this situation is compounded during an Olympic year. First of all, what is an injury? An easy example is something that stops an athlete, such as a runner, from running. Okay, but what

I was asked this question on BBC Radio Merseyside today, following England’s exit from Euro 2012 football tournament after another penalty shoot-out. When life is often routine and mundane, sport can bring colour to our lives. The highs and lows, the emotional rollercoaster, the stress and excitement of following a team can make our day, week and year more interesting. Plus, when we watch sport with friends, family and fellow fans, there is a sense of being part of a group , a sense of belonging. We celebrate and commiserate together. It binds us together with other like-minded people. Like the excitement a gambler feels when he is placing his bet, we fans would find it difficult to do without the thrills and spills of following our teams.

Italian football match-fixing inquiry story on the BBC today (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18000848 ): 52 active players to answer questions on their behaviour. This got me wondering, some athletes make the decision to take performance enhancing drugs to perform better (by cheating), but how much money would it take for athletes (footballers and others) to perform worse? What would it take for us in their shoes to: to miss a or every shot on goal? to foul another player? to false start in a sprint race? to fail at each attempt at a triple jump? to not finish a hurdle race? to finish outside the top 10 in a sprint in a cycling road race? ... Would we never be tempted? Even by a few hundred thousand pounds? Would our price be high, average, or not so high? Would it be lower if we are more towards the end of our sporting careers, to earn a bit extra, or because it 'doesn't matter'? How would we justify the decision? Dr Victor Thompson www.sportsps

Just as a training plan gives you confidence that you are taking steps towards good fitness and a good competitive performance, so does a rehab program where your physio/sports massage sessions and rehab exercises can give you confidence that you are doing what is required to recover, to get back to usual training, and to be better than before. Plan your rehab recovery. Look out for progress. Celebrate your efforts and achievements. And don’t ditch your rehab exercises too early. Dr Victor Thompson www.sportspsychologist.com

An important element of self-management is the ability to manage attention, focus or concentration. Skilful performers can shift focus when the situation requires it and at will. One dimension is internal-external: Internal: this is your body, how it feels, your perceived exertion, your heart-rate, tension, but also your emotions and thoughts External: that which is outside your body, the competitive arena, your opponent(s), the weather Practice in training to shift your attention from internal to external and back again, plus to learn when it is helpful to have an internal or external focus. Dr Victor Thompson www.sportspsychologist.com