Ilia Malinin made history during his Olympic free skate by attempting a quadruple axel, a feat no other skater has ever accomplished. However, the moment quickly turned into a cascade of challenges as he fell multiple times, leading him to drop from first to eighth place by the end of his performance. Known as the “Quad God,” Malinin has dominated the figure skating scene, becoming the first skater to land seven quadruple jumps in a single program at the Grand Prix Final and winning multiple championships. Despite these accomplishments, the immense pressure of the Olympics proved to be a significant hurdle.
In a candid post-performance admission, Malinin spoke about the overwhelming nerves he faced, stating that “all the traumatic moments of my life” flooded his mind before he skated. He emphasized that the pressure of the Olympics was unlike any other competition he had faced. Malinin’s experience highlights a broader phenomenon affecting elite athletes at the Games, where performance pressure can lead even the most skilled competitors to falter.
Mikaela Shiffrin, an alpine skiing legend with a record of 108 World Cup victories, also faced her own Olympic struggles, having gone medal-less in her past eight races since 2018. However, she successfully broke her Olympic drought this year by winning gold in the women’s slalom, demonstrating resilience and perseverance in the face of immense stress. Similarly, Andri Ragettli, a prominent freeski athlete, finished his third Olympics without clinching a medal, illustrating that Olympic pressure can impact even the most talented athletes.
These examples raise intriguing questions about the psychological aspects of performance under extreme pressure. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy explores the science behind this phenomenon, explaining how evaluative pressure can overwhelm an athlete’s capabilities. She refers to research that highlights how the “approach/inhibition theory of power” impacts athletes’ performance. When feeling powerful, an athlete can perform fluidly. Conversely, the pressure at the Olympics often activates an inhibition response, which takes a toll on performance.
Cuddy notes that the extreme social-evaluative threat at the Olympics can lead to physiological responses that hinder an athlete’s ability to perform at their best, transforming their experience into a battle between instinctual responses and skill. The heightened cortisol levels that accompany this pressure can lead to diminished performance by shifting an athlete’s focus from their training to the potential for failure.
To help elite athletes cope with this unique challenge, Cuddy proposes several strategies. Strengthening the vagal nerve response can help maintain calm during performances. Training to restore a sense of control and power amid evaluative contexts, along with practices that expose athletes to similar pressures in training, can promote better performance under scrutiny. Additionally, managing cortisol levels and learning to reappraise stressful situations as challenges rather than threats can help athletes navigate the complexities of high-pressure environments like the Olympics.
As the world watches athletes like Shiffrin and Malinin at the peak of their performance, understanding the mental hurdles they face offers valuable insights into the nature of competition and the extraordinary feats these athletes strive to achieve.