" The Psychological Architecture of Olympic Champions:

What Makes the World's Best Athletes Tick?

Dr. David Fletcher

School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences

Paper Abstract
Winning an Olympic or world title is universally recognized as the pinnacle of sporting achievement
and arguably the most demanding challenge an athlete can pursue. In view of these observations,
the purpose of this paper is to synthesize research examining the psychological characteristics of the
world's most successful athletes. A meta-interpretation approach is adopted to identify relevant
concepts in 105 Olympic and/or world champions representing 27 sports and 14 nations. Four
psychological dimensions (i.e., dispositions, skills, outcomes, and responses) and numerous
characteristics emerge from the analysis. The results are discussed in relation to the existing elite
performance literature and a model is proposed outlining the psychological architecture of Olympic
and world champions. The implications of the findings and model are discussed for applied practice
and future research.

About the speaker a brief CV

In August 2007, David returned to Loughborough University as a Lecturer in Sport and Performance
Psychology after previously being awarded an MSc in Sports Science with Distinction. During the
interim, he lectured at a number of British universities and consulted with sport organisations
including British Swimming and the IMG Bollettieri Tennis and Leadbetter Golf Academies in Florida.
David's PhD thesis examined elite athletes' stress experiences in preparation for Olympic
competition. He has published in and reviewed for various international peer-reviewed journals,
including the Psychology of Sport and Exercise, Journal of Sports Sciences, Journal of Applied Sport
Psychology, The Sport Psychologist, International Journal of Sport Psychology, and European Journal
of Sport Science, and has presented his work at the World Congress of the International Society of
Sport Psychology; the North American Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity Annual
Conference, the European Congress of Sport Psychology, the Association for Applied Sport
Psychology Annual Conference, and the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences Annual
Conference. David was the first recipient of the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences
Tom Reilly Memorial Award which is presented for published research of outstanding merit in the
field of sport and/or exercise sciences. In recognition of his work in elite sport, he was invited by the
British Olympic Association and British Swimming to present in support of their respective Olympic
management and coaching teams, and has given major talks at the American Swimming Coaches
Association World Clinic and the British Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association Annual
Conference. In July 2009, David was the first British sport psychologist to be registered as a United
States Olympic Committee Registered Psychologist. He regularly consults with world and Olympic
level athletes from a variety of sports, and works closely with sport organizations on creating
environments and cultures that enable high performance.