LONDON: “Malevolent” characteristics such as being self-centered, ruthless and manipulative may help elite athletes achieve glory, according to research published just weeks before the Paris Olympics.
But athlete-coach relationships could suffer when coaches have those traits, sports scientists at Britain’s Nottingham Trent University have found.
Lead author Joseph Stanford, a researcher at NTU’s School of Science and Technology, said: “Specific characteristics considered malevolent in social settings are highly relevant in performance sport.”