For top level sports people,

it's not just skill and

athleticism that count.

So often, it's mind over matter.

Psychology is now seen as

increasingly vital to winning.

Having a sports psychologist is

just as valuable as a strength

and conditioning coach.

In elite sport,

the difference between success and failure

is often the finest of margins.

Go!

It's all about raising the bar

one year to the next.

Keel's

good.

The annual boat race between

Oxford and Cambridge Universities

is one of the oldest and

most prestigious events

in the sporting calendar.

They're moving out to

nearly a half a length here.

Very encouraging for Cambridge.

For the competitors,

it's 20 minutes of pure pain.

But also, pure pressure.

When they walk outside that boathouse

there will be 100,000

people standing on the bank.

That is something you just

can't get your head around
until you've actually lived it.

How the rowers cope with

that intense pressure

can make the difference

between glory and failure.

The Cambridge women's team

have won the last two races

and this woman has been one of

the secrets of their success.

I work on managing their thinking.

Knowing that they are in control

of their psychological state.

Sports psychologist Helen Davis

has worked on specific

techniques to help the team

at the most mentally

testing moments in the race.

When the pain kicks in,

they have trigger words

that they've planned for in advance

that they will say to themselves

to get across the finish line.

As training for the 2019 race intensifies,

just trying to keep up with

teammates is mentally grueling.

Trying to make those

crews is huge pressure.

I get off the water and I've just been

trying to keep up with

people who compete at world championships

and then I work on my PhD and

I'm trying to keep up with

people that I feel are

so much smarter than me.

So it's pressure that I put on myself.

So I will very much encourage them to

view pressure as a challenge.

Focus on certain things

with their thinking

that's going to help them

with their performance

rather than focusing on the uncertainties

of their situation.

Understanding what makes athletes cope

or panic at those crucial moments

is an ever-growing obsession
in professional sport.

It's the multi-billion dollar question

that sports psychologists are

constantly trying to answer.

Dr. Jamie Barker lectures

at the world's leading

sports science university,

Loughborough in Britain.

What is the reaction that

individuals go through

and how does that contribute

to how they perform?

That's the intrigue that we have.

Okay and James, if you just try

to relax as much as you can.

In 2013, Jamie helped devise

a cardiovascular test.

It compared the physiological

reactions of athletes

who thrive in a high pressure situation

with those who flop.

A group of aspiring
professional cricketers
were set a specific target.

We had a scenario where they would

have to score 36 runs of 30 deliveries

when facing the balling machine.

The cricketers were warned

that their results would be made public

and would decide who makes

the team and who doesn't.

Shot.

So what's he on, then?

10 of 10.

Nearly half the players

hit the test for six, and scored the runs.

And most of them went into

what psychologists call

a challenge state.

In a challenge state,

my body releases adrenaline

which opens up my arteries,

which means there's blood,

glucose, and oxygen going around my body,

I'm able to make better decisions.

I'm able to move quickly.

Over half the batsmen found themselves

on a stickier wicket, and

failed to make the runs.

They mostly entered the

so-called threat state.

In a threat state I experience

the release of cortisol, which constricts

the arteries around my heart,

there's less blood going around my body,

and hence my performance may suffer.

As a sports psychologist we can

then start to go in and say,

how can we help you to

go from a threat state

to a challenge state?

Jamie employs a mental

visualization technique

that sports psychologists

have used with a variety

of professional teams.

Athletes are asked to

picture a set of scales.

On one side are their demands,

the obstacles to success.

They're taught to tip the

balance the other way.

Towards their resources,

the attributes they possess

that can help them.

It is about trying to develop

a perception of control.

Can individuals really focus on the things

that they can influence,

rather than worrying

about external factors.

Sports psychology is sometimes criticized

as a phony science.

But many major sports

teams and personalities

now use psychologists.

And there's growing acceptance

that this boosts performances.

In sports, as in the world beyond,

a mental edge can bring a winning one.

Everyone on this team pushes themselves

to incredible limits.

And that's why they've come so far

academically and in sports.