Psychological parameters of peak performance

Redefining success

The United States is expected to take about 235 athletes to the Winter Olympics, and about 70 more to the Paralympics. But here's the truth.

"Most of the athletes who come through Team USA will not win a gold medal," Clark said."That's the reality of elite sport."

Here are the numbers. The United States won gold medals in nine events in the last Winter Games in Beijing in 2022.

According to Dr Bill Mallon, an esteemed shoulder surgeon and Olympic historian, 70.8 percent of Winter and Summer Olympic athletes go to only one Olympics.

Few are as successful and famous as swimmer Michael Phelps, or skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn.

Clark said she often delivers the following message to Olympians and Paralympians: This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Focus on the process. Savor the moment.

"Your job is not to win a gold medal, your job is to do the thing and the gold medal is what happens when you do your job," she said.

"Some of this might be realigning what success looks like," she added. "And some of this is developing resilience in the face of setbacks and failure."

Clark preaches staying on task under pressure and improvement through defeat.

"We get stronger by pushing ourselves to a limit where we're at our maximum capacity — and then recovering," she said."When we get stressed, it impacts our attention. Staying on task or staying in line with what's important is what we try to train for."