School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.
Welsh Institute of Performance Science, Swansea, UK.
Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2021 Jul;31(7):1558-1573. doi: 10.1111/sms.13953. Epub 2021 Apr 4.
The purpose of this study was to explore the transitional experiences of British swimmers as they attempted to qualify for the Olympic Games and gain a place in the British Swimming World Class Performance Programme. An interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach was adopted (Smith JA. Psychol Health 1996;11:261-271). Six swimmers (aged 20-25 years), one of each of their parents, and four coaches completed interviews leading up to and following Olympic trials over an eight-month period. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and analyzed following the guidelines set out by Smith and Osborne (Smith JA, Osborn M. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. London: Sage; 2003:51-80). Results indicated that athletes' transition experiences were characterized by a range of demands, which were categorized into five higher-order themes (a) Questioning "Am I good enough?"; (b) Managing and fulfilling expectations; (c) Operating within an environment that is working against them; (d) Lacking support and understanding of self and demands; and (e) Maintaining balance versus being an international swimmer. Overall, the results indicate that this attempted transition is complex, challenging, and unique and largely influenced by self-confidence. Addressing the individual factors impacting on athletes' self-confidence appears critical to enhancing swimmers' transitional experiences at the highest level.
本研究旨在探讨英国游泳运动员在试图获得奥运会参赛资格并进入英国游泳世界级表现计划时的过渡经历。采用了解释现象学分析（IPA）方法（Smith JA. Psychol Health 1996;11:261-271）。在八个月的时间里，六名游泳运动员（年龄在 20-25 岁之间）、他们的一位父母和四位教练完成了访谈，这些访谈在奥运选拔赛之前和之后进行。录音被逐字转录，并按照 Smith 和 Osborne（Smith JA，Osborn M. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. London: Sage; 2003:51-80）规定的准则进行分析。结果表明，运动员的过渡经历具有一系列的需求，这些需求被分为五个更高层次的主题：（a）质疑“我是否足够好？”；（b）管理和满足期望；（c）在对他们不利的环境中运作；（d）缺乏对自己和需求的支持和理解；以及（e）在保持平衡与成为一名国际游泳运动员之间。总的来说，结果表明，这种尝试性的过渡是复杂、具有挑战性和独特的，并且主要受到自信的影响。解决影响运动员自信的个人因素对于提高游泳运动员在最高水平的过渡经历至关重要。
