The Olympic Games and the Sport Psychology Practitioner: From Pregame Covid and Motivation Issues to postgame blues

The recent Olympic Quadrennial has put applied sport psychology to the test (Lundqvist et.al., 2021). Postponement, speculations of cancellation, changes in preparations, lack of opportunities to compete, and severe restrictions all provided fertile ground for rumination, stress, and losing sight of the deeper meaning. Therefore, the Tokyo and Beijing Games will go over in history as an event that truly tested the athletes’ mental game and jeopardized their mental health.
The presenters in this symposium all have first-hand experience of the pressure related to the Olympics, either as experienced sport psychology practitioners or as athletes. The symposium represents multiple perspectives, including those of different European countries as well as different roles related to the Games. The presenters will take us through a journey that starts in the exhilaration of preparation and ends in the search for meaning after the Games.
Carolina Lundqvist supported Swedish athletes and collected data in the lead-up to the Games. She will talk about challenges related to motivation and wellbeing in preparation for the Games. As head of the performance behavior team of the Netherlands, Paul Wylleman represents a management perspective. He will talk about the sport psychologist’s role in managing Covid testing and quarantines. Anne Marte Pensgaard has supported Norwegian athletes for decades and will present a success story of using a mindfulness and acceptance approach to help shooters perform in the face of challenges. Finally, Violetta Oblinger-Peters, herself an Olympian, will present athlete stories of feeling lost upon return.