High-level archers mention breathing and imagery among the last of their shooting strategies

The summary today

Two studies have asked top archers how they approach the shot, and they agree on breathing but less so on imagery. In 1996 the eight archers of the Italian Olympic team, interviewed a month before Atlanta, all describe mentally checking the actions and positions of the shot sequence; slow deep breathing is mentioned by only one, and two say they have no need to control heart rate and tension. Imagery, on the other hand, comes up in more of their accounts: three say they see themselves from inside, two that they see the arrow reach the gold, and only one avoids it because it makes them feel uncertain. In 2025 sixty-five high-level Korean archers, eighteen years old with eight years in the sport and an average of 327 out of 360 at 70 metres, answer open questions about how they arrived at an X: in the preparation phase psychological regulation techniques are the least cited category, 11% of mentions, with six references to keeping focus, two to imagery and one to deep breathing, while ahead of them come confidence and a positive mindset with 25 mentions and loss of self-consciousness, a mind cleared of thoughts and of the score, with 17. The two interviews do not measure the same thing, because the Italians were asked directly about breathing and mental rehearsal, while the Koreans told their story freely. In both cases the count shows what archers put first, not what they do or what works: a European survey of two hundred young elite archers finds that more than half use breathing exercises in training.

Also phrased as: "do elite archers use imagery"; "do champions use breathing techniques"; "mental strategies of korean archers"; "what korean archers think about during the shot"; "mental strategies of olympic archers"

Evidence

• 1998
  For Archers Published later

  8 archers from the 1996 Italian Olympic team, 4 men and 4 women aged 18 to 36 with about 10 years of shooting, interviewed in depth a month before the Games and then observed on the range: among the strategies for controlling arousal in competition, slow deep breathing is mentioned by 1 archer, relaxed muscles by 2, and 2 say they have no need to control heart rate and bodily reactions. The interview guide asked explicitly whether they controlled heart rate and breathing.

  Mental Preparation Strategies of Olympic Archers During Competition: an exploratory investigation · Claudio Robazza, Laura Bortoli

• 1998
  Against Archers Published later

  In the same study imagery is one of the four broad dimensions of competition strategy: 3 archers say they see themselves from inside, 2 that they see the arrow reach the gold, 1 that they see themselves from outside, 4 talk to themselves to support the image, and only 1 avoids it because it makes them feel uncertain. Here imagery is not among the last strategies, although the interview asked explicitly whether they mentally rehearsed the shot.

  Mental Preparation Strategies of Olympic Archers During Competition: an exploratory investigation · Claudio Robazza, Laura Bortoli

• 1998
  Context Archers Published later

  The strategy mentioned by all eight is mentally checking the actions and positions of the shot sequence; one describes eleven checkpoints in a row, from the hand on the bow to the push of the bow arm. Observed on the range, all of them repeated the sequence with very consistent timing.

  Mental Preparation Strategies of Olympic Archers During Competition: an exploratory investigation · Claudio Robazza, Laura Bortoli

• 2024
  Context Archers Published later

  200 archers aged 13 to 20, interviewed at the European Youth Championships, answer a questionnaire on training: 121 use concentration techniques (60.5%), 114 breathing exercises (57%) and 109 relaxation techniques (54.5%), with no differences between boys and girls. It is a different question, about what is done in training rather than what is mentioned when describing the shot, and the data were collected at the 2018 championships.

  Injuries and Persistent Pain in Elite Adolescent Archery Athletes: A Cross-Sectional Epidemiological Study · Nikolaos Vasilis, Athanasios Kyriakides, George Vasilopoulos, Maria Chatzitimotheou, Grigorios Gonidakis, Athanasios Kotsakis, et al.

• 2025
  For Archers Published later

  65 high-level Korean archers (mean age 18, 8 years in the sport, an average of 327 out of 360 at 70 m, all with at least one X), open questions about shooting an X and content analysis on an eight-phase model: in the preparation phase psychological regulation strategies are the least cited category, 9 mentions (11.1%), of which 6 concern keeping focus, 2 imagery and 1 deep breathing. After the shot, managing tension accounts for 12 mentions (12%), and deep breathing comes up only once more.

  Aim high, hit ×10: psychological strategies driving the success of South Korean archers · Joonyoung Lee, Suyoung Hwang

• 2025
  Context Archers Published later

  In the same preparation phase the most cited category is confidence and a positive mindset, 25 mentions (30.9%), followed by loss of self-consciousness, 17 (21%: no thoughts 9, avoiding overthinking 5, detachment from the score 3), and by mastery-oriented and outcome-oriented goals, 15 mentions each (18.5%). The count measures what comes to mind, not how often a technique is used.

  Aim high, hit ×10: psychological strategies driving the success of South Korean archers · Joonyoung Lee, Suyoung Hwang

Status history

1. 1984 Not studied Nobody in the registry's bibliography had yet asked top archers which mental strategies they use in the seconds of the shot, or in what order they mention them. How much room breathing and imagery take up in athletes' accounts had not been counted.
2. 1998 Contested The first data come from the Italian Olympic team: eight archers interviewed in depth a month before Atlanta. On breathing the claim holds, because slow deep breathing is mentioned by only one and two say they have no need to control the body; on imagery it does not, because imagery is one of the four broad competition strategies, with three archers seeing themselves from inside, two seeing the arrow in the gold and only one avoiding it. At the top of everything is mentally checking the shot sequence, mentioned by all eight. The same study points two ways, and the interview asked explicitly about breathing and mental rehearsal: contested.
3. 2024 Contested A questionnaire of two hundred young archers at the European championships finds that more than half use breathing exercises in training, 57%, and slightly more use concentration techniques, 60.5%. It shows that these techniques are widespread, not where they stand when archers describe how they prepare the shot: it does not change the count, and the picture stays as divided as in 1998, contested.
4. 2025 Contested Sixty-five high-level Korean archers describe, through open questions, how they arrived at an X. In the preparation phase, psychological regulation techniques are the least cited category, 11%, with two references to imagery and one to deep breathing, while confidence and a positive mindset reach 25 mentions and a mind cleared of thoughts and of the score 17. On breathing the two studies now agree. On imagery they do not: the Koreans barely mention it, while the eight Italian Olympians counted it among their main strategies, even though their interview asked about it directly. One study on each side for half of the claim, both of them counts of interview themes: the status stays contested.

Related

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Research lines

• 52 studiesMental training: what has been tested on archers since 1979
• 16 studiesCoach and athlete: communication, relationship and the shooting line

Other claims in this domain

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• ReportedA longer quiet eye improves shooting accuracy3 studies · 58 archers measuredStatus since 2017
• ReportedA mental profile tells archers apart from athletes in other sports only in part5 studies · 550 archers measuredStatus since 2018
• ReportedA mental training programme improves the elite archer's mood1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023
• ReportedA mental training programme reduces burnout in elite archers1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023

See all claims on mind and attention