Dispositional Flow and Performance in Brazilian Triathletes.

Flow is a mental state characterized by total immersion and focus in an activity; performing it pleasurably. Such a state is considered optimal for performance. The present study analyzed the relationship between dispositional flow and performance in triathletes. The sample consisted of 328 athletes (294 males and 34 females; mean age of 37.42 ± 7.18 years) competing in the Ironman Brazil - Florianópolis - South American Championship 2017. Instruments were an identification sheet, the Dispositional Flow Scale (DFS-2) and athletes' total race times. Data were analyzed using R, through the Shapiro-Wilk normality test, Mann-Whitney's , Spearman Correlation, and Network Analysis [Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO)], using strength, closeness, and betweenness as centrality measurements. Results show a positive correlation between age and practice time ( = 0.34), inverse relationship between practice time and total race time ( = -0.25), and inverse correlations between race time and 05 of the 09 flow dimensions ( between -0.17 and -0.11), suggesting better performances were related to more practice time and higher disposition to flow. Flow conditions, flow characteristics, individual characteristics, and performance were separately grouped in the network structure. Challenge-skill balance was the most influential node, with the highest closeness and betweenness values; challenge-skill balance, clear goals, control, and action-awareness merge directly influenced better race times. Sample's top 50 performers had significantly higher disposition to challenge-skill balance, clear goals, control and feedback. Practical implications of flow mechanisms are discussed. Dispositional flow was positively related to objective performance in Brazilian triathletes.