Toward a Conceptual Understanding of the Flow Experience in Elite Athletes

An in-depth investigation into flow state was conducted in order to understand how this optimal state is experienced by elite athletes. Twenty-eight elite-level athletes, representing 7 sports, were interviewed on their perceptions of flow state during performance of their sport. Csikszentmihalyi's (1990) model of the flow state was examined for its applicability to elite athletes. Correspondence was found between the dimensions of flow, as described by Csikszentmihalyi (1990), and the athletes' descriptions of their experience of flow; some dimensions received greater support through the qualitative analysis of the athletes' descriptions than did other dimensions. Those dimensions of flow most represented across the group's data were the autotelic experience of flow, total concentration on the task at hand, merging of action and awareness, and the paradox of control. The analyses provided a detailed, sport-specific picture of flow state in elite athletes.