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CASE REPORT article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Sport Psychology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1642621

This article is part of the Research TopicMental Health in Recreational and Elite SportsView all 26 articles

Psychophysiological Measures of a SuperEnduro Athlete During a World Championship: An In-Situ Case Study

Provisionally accepted
Ferench IhászFerench Ihász1*Zoltán AlföldiZoltán Alföldi1Anna Horváth-PápaiAnna Horváth-Pápai1,2Robert Stanislaw PodstawskiRobert Stanislaw Podstawski3Kevin J. FinnKevin J. Finn4Mark D. GriffithsMark D. Griffiths5Angela SomogyiAngela Somogyi1Professor Attila SzaboProfessor Attila Szabo1
  • 1Széchenyi István University, Gyor, Hungary
  • 2University of Pécs, Doctoral School of Health Sciences, Pécs, Hungary
  • 3University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Olsztyn, Poland
  • 4University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, Missouri, United States
  • 5Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom

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Introduction: SuperEnduro is a high-risk motorcycle sport with no prior empirical data. This case study analyzed an elite rider during the fifth round of the 2023/2024 SuperEnduro Grand Prix.Methods: Psychological measures included core-, positive-, and negative affect, expected and perceived performance, mental and physical exhaustion, perceived risk of racing addiction, and a post-race interview. Physiological measures encompassed heart rate, caloric expenditure, work intensity, and training loads.Results: Results showed a decline in core affect, with positive affect remaining high and negative affect low after three races. Anxiety decreased progressively, but perceived and objective performance remained low. Elevated physiological measures and subjective perceptions confirmed SuperEnduro's intensity. The participant self-identified himself as addicted to racing. However, his addiction score was low, suggesting passion or emotional attachment-a blend of pleasure and pain-driving his commitment to race even when injured.Discussion: These findings provide insight into the physical and psychological demands unique to SuperEnduro athletes.

Keywords: Addiction, Affect, Motorsports, passion, SuperEnduro

Received: 06 Jun 2025; Accepted: 10 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Ihász, Alföldi, Horváth-Pápai, Podstawski, Finn, Griffiths, Somogyi and Attila Szabo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Ferench Ihász, Széchenyi István University, Gyor, Hungary

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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