2012 Summer Olympics: Analyzing Impact of 4-Year Layoff

One of the things that make the Olympic Games so special is also what makes them so challenging for the athletes around the globe that participate. In no other event in sports (save the World Cup in soccer) is the gap between games so great. The four-year layoff between Olympics certainly affects both the physical and mental preparation of the athletes vying for a gold medal.

Physically, one would think that Olympic athletes have a much easier time preparing for the Games than their predecessors for a number of reasons. Technological advances have turned training into highly specialized regimens designed to target specific muscle groups, enabling track and field athletes and gymnasts to engage in very different programs each designed around their particular events.

Also, it's not as if athletes get four years "off" between games, as there are always competitions going on in the vast majority of Olympic events, be they at the regional, national or international level. Factor in that a large number of Olympic athletes nowadays also compete professionally, and there's not a lot of idle time if the typical Olympian's day.

However, mental preparation is another matter altogether. There just isn't really a way to truly prepare mentally for the Olympic Games. Granted, these athletes face tremendous pressure all the time to perform in order to even make it to the Olympics, but once there, athletes face an entirely new level of stress borne of the long layoff between Games.

For many participants, the Olympics are a once-in-a-lifetime shot at sporting immortality. The pressure emanating from that first, last and only chance is undoubtedly immense.

It doesn't necessarily get any easier for Olympic "veterans" either, especially those who had a bad showing last time out. Not only have those athletes lived with that disappointment for four years, but they are also staring down the barrel at what will probably be their last chance at redemption.

No pressure, though.

So, as thousands of athletes from around the world descend on London this month for the 2012 Olympic Games, it's a safe bet that all will be in tip-top physical condition. But it's what's going on between their respective ears that may well determine who stands atop the medal stand when all is said and done.

Follow @IDPManor