Investigation of the Performance Status of Elite Taekwondo Athletes Under COVID-19 Conditions: A Mixed Study

ABS TRACT Objective: COVID-19 negatively affected sports envi- ronment as well as many other aspects of life. In this process, while all sports stakeholders focused on managing the process with the most economical and effective solutions, athletes at this point had to give a new direction to their training that they had to continue at home. In this context, the research was carried out to collect information on the training processes that elite taekwondo athletes had to continue at home due to the COVID-19 outbreak and their performance status, and to perform analyses. Material and Methods: The research was carried out in a mixed pattern, in which the quantitative and qualitative processes were active, with the volunteer participation of 28 elite taekwondo athletes. Within the scope of the research, the training processes which had to be performed at home, the performance status, and the opinions and thoughts of the athletes on the process were obtained. Descriptive and content analysis techniques were used for the arrangement, analysis and presentation of the data. SPSS 25 statistical software was used to analyze the quantitative data. Results: Find- ings obtained from the study showed that the athletes mostly create a sports environment in their homes, receive remote coach support, per- form 3-7 trainings a week and perform training an average of 7.47 hours a week, as well as they have some physical, motoric and men- tal problems. Conclusion: As a result, the elite athletes were found to determine a strategy to protect their current status rather than training to improve their performance.