Análisis cualitativo sobre aspectos psicológicos y rendimiento deportivo en Lucha Olímpica

Extensive research is available on the psychological aspects related to sports performance. There are however few studies of this type relating to specific sports. To devise a psychological training program, it is important to know some variables and their impact at different times of the season. The aim of this paper is to describe the psychological aspects that Olympic wrestlers perceive as most important in a competition and the best and the worst moments of the season, and to analyze the strategies used by wrestlers to face complicated situations. For this, a qualitative methodology based on content analysis was used. Twenty-five wrestlers were interviewed for our study. The results suggest that there are variables with a greater weight in different situations, such as stress control and self-confidence, and others that appear as relevant at specific times and related to situations of high or low performance, such as expectations, attention, social support, or perception of fitness. On the other hand, wrestlers make use of different strategies during competition and are worried about specific aspects of their sport such as nutrition and weight control. Finally, it is important to know the psychological variables depending on the time of the season and the specific sport, and to perform qualitative evaluations including the opinion of wrestlers, to be able to devise psychological training programs adapted to their needs.