Abstract
The elite sport environment can be very stressful for many athletes. Some athletes cope easily with the multitude of possible stressors associated with the quest for elite athletic performance, many other talented athletes struggle and often fail to achieve their expected performance potential. This research was designed to explore the relationship between elite athletes' self-regulation ability of the stress response and their ranking at the world level using psychophysiological stress assessment profiling. Fifteen elite level athletes' psychophysiological stress response patterns were recorded during a nine stage stress assessment. Respiration rate, heart rate, skin conductance, electromyography, and peripheral body temperature were monitored. There was a significant negative correlation between elite athletes' overall self-regulation ability and their ranking at the world level. Only the EMG-trapezius self-regulation score significantly contributed to the model predicting athletes' world ranking. Our results suggest the existence of a relationship between elite athletes' overall self-regulation ability and their ranking at the world level. This may indicate that higher ranking athletes are better psychophysiological self-regulators. Thus, training for optimal self-regulation of the stress response may enhance sport performance.Acknowledgments: Funding provided by Own the Podium