Henning Thrien: The Mind Games of Elite Athletes
From Frodeno Going Mental by Jan Frodeno, Podstars by OMR
June 1, 2026 · 55 min
About this episode
Jan Frodeno interviews his sports psychologist Henning Thrien about the mental challenges faced by elite athletes.
In this episode, Jan opens up a deeply personal chapter by sitting down with his own sports psychologist, Henning Thrien. Henning has spent the last 15 years working at the intersection of human vulnerability and elite performance, including guiding athletes through the high-pressure cooker of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Pulling back the curtain on the raw emotional reality of world-class sports, he shares fascinating, extreme insights from his practice. Jan and Henning discuss Henning’s self-definition of being a "mental trash can" for performers, why true growth is fundamentally impossible without embracing discomfort, and how the greatest champions handle the brutal contrast between deep pre-race anxiety and laser-focused autopilot. It’s an honest, unfiltered masterclass on what happens when superhumans face their very human limits and how they manage their needs to deliver when it matters most. Enjoy this episode! Produced by Podstars by OMR PILLAR Performance provides science-backed, clinically dosed micronutrition designed specifically for endurance athletes. Their supplements focus on optimizing recovery, sleep, and immunity without unnecessary fillers. If you want to…
People in this episode
Host: Jan Frodeno
Guest: Henning Thrien
Topics covered
- mental health
- elite athletes
- sports psychology
- performance
- Olympics
- anxiety management
Keywords
- sports psychology
- elite performance
- mental health
- anxiety
- Olympics
- athlete mindset
Sponsors
PILLAR Performance
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Podstars by OMR
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