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Elite sport in the public eye brings risk and reward

On 20th April I presented at the British Psychological Society's (BPS) Annual Conference on Sport and Exercise. Here are some of comments from my presentation via summarised on the BPS website (http://www.bps.org.uk/news/roundtable-sport-and-mental-health):

'Dr Victor Thompson, himself a competitive triathlete, spoke about the pressures on elite athletes. All must attempt to maintain confidence in their own abilities and performance, yet many will eventually have to accept that their careers will not be fulfilled – either because of injury or because they are not quite good enough to reach the very top.

He also spoke of the particular pressures on athletes in the Internet age, when every spectator and armchair fan can be a critic too. A contributor from the audience said that in his experience top rugby players cannot keep away from blogs and Twitter even though they know they should.'
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