(Reuters) - Britain's Tom Daley says divers who neglect the mental side of the sport can forget about winning a medal at next month's Rio de Janeiro Games.
Daley, who won a 10-metre platform bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, will be competing in the individual event and the synchronised 10-metre platform with new partner Dan Goodfellow in Brazil.
"You can only do so much in the gym or pool. Seventy percent of it is physical but the final 30 percent is down to the mental capacity to actually control what you can do in competition," the 22-year-old told British media.
"When it comes to the Olympics you get one shot every four years. If you can't handle the pressure in that one moment on that one dive then go big or go home," added Daley, the 2009 individual world champion.
"Every morning I do 10 minutes of mindfulness where I do meditation and I use that in competition and everyday life. It's helped me massively," Daley said.
"I feel like that's one of the reasons why this year I've been the most consistent that I've been in competition. If I do a bad dive that's in the past, move on. The next dive is a completely separate thing."