Sport psychological skills profile of track and field athletes and comparisons between successful and less successful track athletes

The aim of this study was to compile a sport psychological skills profile of track and field athletes and to compare the psychological skill levels of successful and less successful track athletes during the 2011 University Sport South Africa Athletics Championships. The participants included 143 athletes (age= 21.6±2.32 years). Their perceived importance and need for psychological skills training, as well as their perceived ability to be mentally prepared for training sessions and competitions were investigated. Practical significant differences were observed between the top (n=21) and bottom (n=21) sprinters for Peak Performance Profile (PPP) total and stress control, Psychological Skills Inventory (PSI) total and achievement motivation, as well as between the top (n=21) and average (n=20) sprinters for PPP total, concentration, stress control, PSI total, achievement motivation, maintaining self-confidence and concentration. The successful (n=21) middle- and long-distance athletes recorded significantly higher achievement motivation values than their less successful (n=21) counterparts. Collectively, these results confirm a relationship between psychological skills and track and field success. The effect of psychological skills training programmes on psychological skills development and performance enhancement requires further empirical studies. Key words : Track and field athletes; IAAF scores; Performance; Sprinters; Middle- and long-distance athletes.