“Time Zero: the moment after the medal”
- Romy Kraus
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Why the post‑competition slump is the real challenge: Interview with Jess Thom performance psychologist behind Team GB
Jess Thom is the go‑to performance psychologist behind Team GB’s Olympic campaigns, weaving strategic thinking into the very fabric of elite sport. She’s not just about pep talks; she’s spent over a decade in the trenches of high‑performance athletics, navigating everything from anger management in rugby academies to planning for the “what next?” after the podium’s glare. In this session, she pulls back the curtain on mental‑skills practices that drive resilience—mindfulness, internal critics, visualization, decompression—and makes them accessible beyond the world of Olympians.
The Lowdown
Emotions like anger and doubt aren’t enemies—they’re signals, and how you respond is what counts.
Elite success isn’t about avoidance; it’s about engaging, planning, and leaning in.
Mindfulness, visualization and worst‑case “what if” planning build the muscle of performance resilience.
Sustained performance demands well‑being; you can’t treat psychosocial health as optional.
The post‑event drop (“performance come down”) is real, and planning for it is as critical as planning for the event itself.
Transitioning from elite competition (or any high‑stakes environment) needs as much strategic focus as the competition phase.
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It’s completely normal to feel angry.”
How Jess redefined anger in performance.
Normalizing anger: Anger is a valid emotion, not a glitch.
The old approach (“stop being angry”) flipped in Jess’s evolution toward “what’s this anger telling you?” She recounts working with a young rugby academy player whose red‑card habit was rooted in anger, and how the attempt to suppress it backfired.
Shift: Accept the emotion → explore its cause → choose the response.
Key takeaway: You don’t control what you feel; you control how you act.
“It’s completely normal to feel angry … what might be driving that, where’s that coming from.” — Jess Thom
“Elite athletes don’t get success by avoiding things … they get success by approaching and attacking it head‑on.” — Jess Thom
“Give that voice a name. Mine’s Frank.”
Taming the internal critic.
That voice—whether labelled “impostor syndrome” or simply self‑doubt—is universal.
Naming the voice makes it recognisable: “Frank, thanks for your input, I’ll focus elsewhere.”
The internal critic isn’t wholly bad: it can drive you, but it can also stunt you. The job: detect when it’s helpful vs unhelpful.
Elite athletes succeed by engaging, not withdrawing because they’re worried.
“We all have that inner voice … telling us we’re not good enough or that we can’t do this.” — Jess Tom
“I might be worried about making a mistake … my initial reaction might be to avoid … Elite athletes don’t get success by avoiding things.” — Jess Tom
“Mindfulness helps you bring your attention to the here and now.”
Why staying present under pressure matters.
Mindfulness = building the attention‑muscle to stay anchored in the moment.
In competition, being present = focusing on the right things at the right time. The distraction risk is huge.
Jess uses both formal training and informal micro‑mindfulness (e.g., brushing your teeth with full awareness) to layer that skill.
Key point: simple in concept, hard in the crucible of performance.
“What you at your best look like … what are the first steps … that you need to take …” — Jess Thom
“Mindfulness training helps to build that skill up … and you can then put it into the competitive environment.” — Jess Thom
“Plan for the worst … and hope for the best.”
Resilience via preparation and contingency.
Planning isn’t just about how you want to show up; it’s about what could derail you and how you’ll respond.
In Jess’s work: ultra‑detailed “what if” planning, including personal / life scenarios not just sport ones.
It doesn’t stop surprises, but the planning gives you agility to adapt when things go off script.
“What could stop me from doing that? How are we going to respond to this?” — Jess Thom
“In every single Olympics I’ve gone to … something always happens that you haven’t planned for but because you’ve done so much other planning you probably can figure out what the right answer is moving forwards.” — Jess Thom
“If you’ve not got that capacity then you’re probably not going to be as successful as you can be.”
Putting well‑being and performance in the same playbook.
Performance without well‑being is a short‑term game. Jess argues that managing stressors outside the field is essential to deliver on the field.
Especially over long cycles (e.g., four‑year Olympic cycle), sustained peak demands holistic resilience.
Well‑being + system support = a stronger platform for high performance.
“I think to have sustained high levels of performance you need well‑being.” — Jess Thom
“The more people I can get involved in that psychology process the more effective … we will be.” — Jess Thom
“Time Zero … minimum of two weeks where you just get out of that sporting environment.”
The underrated art of decompression.
Post‑competition slump (“performance come down”) is real, especially for elite athletes.
Jess’s method: hot debrief at the venue, then “Time Zero” — at least two weeks away from the sport bubble to reconnect with normal life, feel the feelings, ride the wave.
Then an emotional‑processing conversation: revisit highs, lows, extract strengths, define next steps.
Transition planning (both within sport and beyond) is critical to avoid the “what next?” void.
“What would that 3 months, 6 months, year after the Games look like for you?” — Jess Thom
“Don’t rush to make that decision … you might be in an emotional place and that’s not a good foundation to make any big life decision like ‘what’s next for you?’” — Jess Thom
Quickfire
Q. What’s the single biggest performance lesson from Olympic sport?
A. Two‑part: 1) Plan as much as you can for how you’ll deliver your best. 2) Expect the roller‑coaster of emotions and thoughts—know you can choose your response in line with the athlete/person you want to be.on you want to be.
