CRI听力:Psychological Training for Olympic Athletes

These oarsmen are locked in a real battle. This isn't just any jaunt down the river; these men are fighting for the chance to represent the British in London's 2012 Olympics.

Top athletes make rowing look effortless and graceful. But at these speeds and at this elite level, rowing is an incredibly harrowing sport.

This course is two thousand meters long and it's a race from start to finish. Alan Campbell says their psychological strength will make all the difference.

"Of the two thousand meters that we race, the first 1500 meters is all about the training over the four year period. 36,000 kilometers over those four years, 800 hours of weight training, 400 hours cross training, all that plays a part in the first 1500 meters. The last 500 meters just comes down to soul, who wants it the most, who's sacrificed the most, who's determined the most and, you know, who really, really wants it."

Campbell qualified for the British team, and the British team has its own psychologist: Dr Chris Shambrook.

"You've got one moment in a four year cycle to deliver at the Olympics. You have to be able to focus only on those things which are most relevant, that are going to help you get the most out of every minute of training that you've put in place. So that quality of focus, knowing that you're focusing on the right thing in the right way and you're able to do that consistently under any form of pressure, has got to be superb at doing that. Going into an Olympic final, you've got to be absolutely clear as to all your strengths which are going to give you the best chance to deliver your absolute stand out performance of your career."

In the past, psychologists weren't even considered. But nowadays, in a rowing team, coordination is essential because everyone has pull together as though they are one, that's physically and mentally. Shambrook says the right frame of mind is essential.

"Just from a communications point of view, where you've got two, four, eight people in the same boat trying to deliver the same plan under pressure, how effectively have you made sure that all of those psychologies have met together to be completely one hundred per cent clear in their thinking under pressure to respond as one?"

The physical and emotional toll is etched on the face of the winners and losers at this winning post. Campbell says it's important to be mentally prepared.

"Determination plays a big part in this sport because by the time you get to that 1500 meters it feels like someone's shoved red hot pokers down your legs. You can feel the veins in your teeth bulging; the peripheral vision starts to go. You know it really is very, very painful, and you know the jaw starts to hurt, vision everything starts to be on its absolute limit, yet we somehow manage to pick up the speed and go again."

Mental training is also essential for controlling nerves. But this can be difficult in the middle of the Olympic setting, surrounded by swarms of other athletes all under enormous pressure.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.