After the Olympics Games is before the Olympic Games. At least for most athletes (for those who haven't planned to retire). If that's the case, athletes would do well to structuredly reflect on the Games and the competitions. Because from every experience, from every competition – particularly from such big, unique events, we can learn a lot. And every lesson learnt that we manage to change, keep or implement in our future training and preparations for the next games will give us a head start.

Here are some questions that may help you to reflect on your competition:

🔴 What went well? (on a physical, tactical, technical and mental level)

🟡 What did you contribute to it going well?

🔵 What didn't go so well?

🟢 What did you contribute to that – and what was out of your control?

⚫ What would you like to change next time?

⚪ Who do you need to support you?

Another question which might be interesting raising in preparation of the next games is,

What's the difference between more and less successful athletes at the Olympics?

According to research, less successful athletes revealed that whether they ended up being successful in the Games – or not – was highly influenced by several interacting factors, such as:

🧠 Psychological: such as mental preparation, higher commitment, focus, dealing with pressure, confidence level, coaching behaviour by their coaches

👭 Social: e.g. more support from family and friends, team selection issues, lack of support, team issues and team unity

🏆 Situational, such as, experience with a resident training program, housing at and distractions in the Olympic village. As you can see, there are so many (and so many psychological!) factors impacting the Olympian's performance...

Are there any other factors that you can think of?

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