Mahoney, M. J., & Avener, M. (1977). Psychology of the elite: An exploratory study. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 1, 135-141.

Finalists at the 1976 US Men's Olympic Gymnastic Team trials were assessed for their patterns and level of arousal. Qualifiers for the team and non-qualifiers were grouped.

• Qualifiers had higher arousal levels which peaked prior to warm-up. This indicates that the warm-up is the signal for the competition to start rather than the official "start."
• Non-qualifiers had lower arousal levels and less control.
• Before the qualifiers' best events, arousal levels were lower than before their worst events. Those levels were also lower than non-qualifiers.
• The content of precompetition thoughts was more task-specific (a "self-coaching" emphasis) while non-qualifiers used considerable negative statements and doubts.

Implication. Elite gymnasts considered the initiation of the final warm-up as the start of the contest. Gymnastics requires a high degree of precision skill and so arousal levels are controlled to facilitate good performances. Lesser athletes get over-aroused and use considerable negative thinking. Precompetition routines need to be practiced, controlled, task-specific, and positively oriented.

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