High-performance sport in a developing country through the lens of coaches and sports directors.

The importance of identifying the key factors for success in high performance sport has been studied for several years. Although the focus during the competition is on the sporting result, it is important to note that the result in sport is preceded by a series of circumstances and factors closely linked to the context of the athlete's preparation process. Therefore, this study aims to identify the potential factors affecting the high-performance sport in a developing country like Colombia from the perception of high-performance coaches. High-performance coaches (HPC) and high-performance directors (HPD) were asked to answer two questionnaires. Descriptive and factorial analyses were performed to identify the decisive factors. Likewise, a one-way ANOVA between groups was performed to assess whether the responses were significantly different. The principal results showed that more than half of the factors identified by developed countries as determinants of success in high performance sport are perceived as weaknesses within the current high-performance system of the emerging country studied. The factors that emerged from this study were Process, Technical and social support, Structure of sports policies, Competition level, and Contractual conditions. This study identifies some factors that have been limiting or facilitating the results of Colombian athletes in elite sports. It also opened new perspectives of research on the field of HPC and HPD, especially inside Latin America Caribbean region and for developing countries more generally.