Annie Vernon rowed for Great Britain at two Olympic games and had a rapid ascent through the womens sculling crews to the top boat.  Now retired, she has written a book about the mental skills of elite athletes - Mind Games.  We discuss nature, nurture and training the mind and the techniques which have propelled some seemingly unlikely candidates to the pinnacle of sport.

Timestamps to the interview:

0.00 Background in rowing and Adrian Cassidy as Annie's first coach to take her towards high performance.

03:00 What is in your head as an athlete?  How did you become aware of mental training - Chris Shambrook.

06:00 Nature, nurture and training - confidence building.  Belief, honesty, trust, composure, momentum and the fraud mentality

16:00 What is an emotional driver?  When the going gets tough...

21:00 Does talent need trauma  Judy Murray - tennis star.  "Prepare the child for the path; not the path for the child."

27:00 The talented athletes often don't work hard. Why?

30:00 Decision making under pressure - you are committed to whatever the person doing the calls says

37:00 Competitiveness and perfectionism ; courage can be trained.

45:00 Train like Tarzan, compete like Jane.  Should we do this?

47:00 Selecting a crew - decisions that go against the evidence

50:00 Transitioning out of sport is an upheaval.  Elite sport and the law - employment and bullying.

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Mind Games by Annie Vernon, sports psychology book

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