A methodical approach to mental training may help, but it’s ultimately up to the individual to determine what works best. 

That process takes time, and 18-year-old Barbara Coppelli of Chile admits that she hasn’t quite figured it out.

The Young Star from a Small Nation

“I have really bad concentration problems,” Coppelli says. “In training, I get yelled at ALL the time. Sometimes I’m listening to the coach, but I’m actually just seeing her, not paying attention to her.”

Coppelli, who does double-duty on the junior and senior national teams, says, “Right now, I’m just understanding when I am getting distracted. It’s like, ‘Okay, you’re dissociating. Pay attention now.’ Sometimes I do understand but I don’t do anything about it.”

Unfortunately, resources are limited. “Being a tiny country,” she says, “we don’t have the financial stuff. You see all the big countries bringing physiotherapists, massage people, photographers, psychologists [to a competition like the World Cup in Canada]. It’s, like, we were fighting to get both of our coaches here. It’s very challenging. That’s kind of stopping us a bit from moving forward in our sport.”

The Japanese World Champion

Japan’s Tomoka Sato, 23, says that her mental fortitude comes from “repeated practice.”

“I do image training. I close my eyes and imagine the underwater scenery,” says the 2023 world champion in mixed technical duet. When the competition grows near, “I imagine judges and spectators at the match venue, too. I add that.”

Then, just before the performance, she will incorporate music and envision a supportive atmosphere.

“I swim thinking everyone is watching, including judges, coaches and the audience is on my side. This helps me relax,” she says.

Then, in the water, “even when I think, ‘It’s no good, it’s no good,’ I have to push myself. I will swim with faith in the accumulated practice I have gained,” Sato says. “If I’m nervous, I believe in my practice and keep swimming.” 

Still, Sato admits, there have been moments when pressure has reduced her to tears. When that happens, she says, “I write in my diary.” And, she says, “I call my younger brother, Yotaro, who understands me the most.”  (Yotaro is also her mixed-duet partner.)

The Mexican-American at the Bottom of the Pool

After switching nationalities from Mexico to the US, Ana Martinez, 23, says the mental game is harder than ever.

Due to a three-year waiting period to represent her new nation, Martinez says, “Last time I competed, the sport was called synchro, had different rules, and no base marks, so I have been preparing a lot. I’ve been visualizing what I need to do. When you’re eight people in the water, you have to think in patterns.  Maybe it’s a line. Maybe it’s two lines.

“You also have to be tighter on the counts. We count one through eight. Sometimes we move on every count, or maybe we move on one count, then hold it for another two counts. It depends on the choreography. But the judges are very strict. If we’re not on count, you can get a ‘minor’ [error which carries a 0.1 penalty], an ‘obvious’ [error which costs 0.5 points], or a ‘major’ if it’s too off,” which yields a 3.0-point deduction.

As a result, she says the team works on visualization every time it swims through the entire routine. And when they do, Martinez says,  “Some people visualize themselves – like how do I want to look in the water?” so they imagine how high they want to be, how a limb should look, or maybe their facial expressions.  In contrast, she says, “Some people visualize what they’re looking at when they’re swimming.”

Many athletes choose one point-of-view or the other, but Martinez – whose role as a “pusher” means she’s at the bottom of every team structure – does both.

“If it’s a new routine,” she explains, “I like to look what I’m looking at [in the water]. But if it’s a very worked [out] routine, I like to look at myself.”        

In addition, the US team has studied and established breathing exercises.

“When you exhale fast, it makes you ready to perform,” Martinez says, “versus if you inhale fast and exhale slow, then it relaxes you. I don’t know if you’ve seen this – but that’s why, when swimmers are about to go on, they go, “HA!”

The American Flyer

American flyer Elle Santana, 19, says it helps to be able “to feel your team – even on land,” so she appreciates when the US does its group breathing together “to calm ourselves and stay in our little bubble. It doesn’t matter what other teams are doing in the pool; as soon as we walk into the competition, we’re very honed in.”

The Canadian Base

Sometimes, switching the brain off can also be effective. The key to staying mentally sharp “for me,” says Canada’s Halle Pratt, 25, “is downtime, making sure you’re well-rested. I try to sleep 8½ hours every night, and a little more towards competition. But I’m not afraid to take a nap in the middle of the day. I think that’s super-helpful.”

The Male Star from Mexico

Mental training, however, is not universal.

Mexico’s mixed duet specialist Diego Carrillo Villalobos, 20, is an ex-diver who went from complete beginner to world championship silver medallist in just three years.  “I don’t have any special mental training,” he says. “I visualise a little bit, but I think it stresses me. I just trust in my work, and that relaxes me.”

Bottom Line

Ultimately – whatever the method (or non-method) of mental training – most artistic swimmers agree on a few universal truths.

Martinez, the Mexican-American says, “I think confidence is key. The first step is to believe you can do it, right? Then, you look at the details.  And, of course, trusting your preparation and all the training you have.”

After spending eight hours in the pool six days of the week, and about 80 run-throughs of a routine, it becomes second nature.