Olympic and world champion judo athletes: Motivational aspects

The objectives of this study is to identify the motivational factors which make judo athletes train for years until they finally become world and/or Olympic champion in judo. The work employed closed-ended rating values questionnaires Three Brazilian Olympic judo team members, (men and women) 41 in total were evaluated. Three professional experts of renowned and proven experience in judo competitions validated the questionnaires. The results showed a list of several indicators which have been classified and prioritized as: outcome motivation, coping with adversity, peak under pressure, setting goals/mental preparation, concentration, no worries and eager to be trained. All these values were prevalent in the closed-ended questionnaire obtained in this ranking. In conclusion, different factors exist which motivate judo athletes to continue to practice judo without considering the present but the future rewards. On the other hand, their resilience reduces over a long period of time.   Key words: Judo, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, extracurricular physical activity, physical education.