Abstract
The 32nd Olympic Games held in 2021 (Tokyo 2020 (+1)) was the first Olympics hosted by Japan since the 18th Winter Olympic Games held in Nagano, Japan in 1998, and it generated a great deal of excitement in the country. However, the 32nd Olympic Games scheduled for 2020 (Tokyo 2020) had to be postponed by 1 year due to COVID-19, and many people including athletes were affected. Even under such circumstances, the Japanese team won a total of 58 medals, including 27 gold medals, representing the highest national total in history. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to use JISS-Psychological Ability Test for Elite Athletes (J-PATEA) to determine the psychological factors of Japanese athletes who participated in the unprecedented Olympic Games held in their home country. The subjects were representative and candidate athletes for Tokyo 2020 (assessed before the decision to postpone Tokyo 2020) and Tokyo 2020 (+1) (assessed after the decision to implement Tokyo 2020 (+1)). Comparisons were also made with past Olympic competitions (Rio 2016). The results showed that many of the J-PATEA factors, including the overall score, were significantly higher for Tokyo 2020 and Tokyo 2020 (+1) than for Rio 2016, suggesting that the psychological state of Japanese athletes was improving. In addition, Tokyo 2020 (+1) medalists had a higher score for many J-PATEA factors than the representative and candidate athletes, revealing the psychological characteristics of top athletes. The present results indicate that mastery of self-control skills and reaffirmation of goals are important during unforeseen events. Furthermore, it was also suggested that self-understanding is particularly important for becoming a world-class athlete, indicating the value of psychological support that promotes self-understanding.
