ABSTRACT
The postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games as a result of the global Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic threw national governing bodies, performance directors, coaches, and athletes into a situation that had not been experienced in the modern Olympic Games. An athlete’s journey, whether it is focused on the outcome of Olympic success or on the process of an intrinsically motivated desire to engage in sport, will be characterised by highs and lows. The lows may involve stressors, adversities, traumas, or failures. Irrespective of whether the adversities are specific to sport or those shared with the wider population, they can play a fundamental role in the process of resilience and in the development of a similar, but distinct, concept of adversarial growth. The researchers identified numerous psychological factors that protect the world’s best athletes from the potential negative effect of stressors.
