By Europe Correspondent Melissa Davies, in London

The psychology behind sport is fascinating. So many of the Kiwi athletes I've interviewed here prior to their competition say it's headspace that can add those extra milliseconds or centimetres needed to win.

Dr Rhonda Cohen, Sports psychologist at University College London says it's about managing confidence and focus.

She says it's a skill to focus step-by-step on the technical aspects of what you need to do to win your competition rather than being caught up with thoughts about what it would mean to you to win a gold medal. 

This mental strength comes with experience but it is also built-in to athletes training programmes in the lead-up to a major competition. 

But how do athletes cope with the feeling of loss afterwards, if that happens to be the outcome.
I don't imagine this is something they have talked about extensively, or at all, with their coaches before they compete.

In my opinion, how an athlete deals with this period is what makes great athletes great. They pick themselves up and prepare for the next goal. 

Valerie Adams is a case in point here. She couldn't hide her initial disappointment at missing out on gold to Belarusian Nadzeya Ostapchuk.

When she visited Kiwi House the following day she struggled to thank the crowd without the lump in her throat getting the better of her.

But when the fans shouted ‘Valerie, you're a champion’, and clapped for almost two-minutes non-stop, Valerie's demeanour seemed to change. I'd like to think she realised that the disappointment was all her own because her friends, family and supporters were beaming with pride.

“I'll pick myself up and try again”, she said through tears while pumping her fist in the air.

Now if I'm honest I've never really agreed with the saying ‘it's not if you win or lose, it's how you play the game’. We should all strive to win - why compete if you don't want to be the best?

This is not a cop-out but I have realised now that it depends on what you perceive a win to be.
Is it beating your competitors by a millisecond, a few centimetres?

Sure, that's part of it and I'm sure the thrill of doing that is what drives professional athletes.

But I wonder when those athletes stand there on that podium with a ribbon and a medallion around their neck is that what they think is the greatest prize, or is it knowing that they know that their whole country is proud of them?

Because if it's the latter, all of the Kiwi medallists have won that.