DEDICATION CITED AS KEY TO OLYMPIC SUCCESS.

Byline: Larry Siddons Associated Press 

Olympic athletes tend to start their sports after age 10 and feel mental toughness means more than physical skills in their quest for medals, according to a new survey.

The research, believed to be the first in-depth attempt to determine what moves an athlete to the Olympic level, also found that a coach is far more likely than a family member to serve as a role model.

And to those just starting on the road to gold, the Olympians offer some simple advice: Work hard and have fun.

The findings came in a telephone survey of 216 past and present U.S. Olympic athletes, coaches and family members, conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide, a Chicago-based research company. The sample was 52 percent male and 48 percent female.

World-class athletes often are painted as grown-up phenoms who spring from the cradle as championship threats. But the survey provides a different profile.

Of the 108 athletes polled, only a third said they started competing in their sports as 10-year-olds or younger. More than half - 54 percent - waited until they were teen-agers or young adults to begin. Another 20 percent didn't get started in sports until after they were 21.

Once they started, it wasn't just natural ability that took them to the top. Just 32 percent of those polled listed athletic skills as a quality of a great Olympian, third behind commitment and dedication (43 percent) and desire and motivation (38 percent).

``That was the only thing that I was a little surprised about, how low on the list physical athletic development was mentioned,'' said Dorothy Peterson, Wirthlin's senior vice president. ``But examining it further, it makes intuitive sense. Something has to separate the groups. You have a lot of great athletes. You only have a few great Olympians.''

The athletes also generally feel that they have done all they can to reach the top. Eighteen percent - the largest single category - of the athletes said they would not change much or anything at all to attain greater success in sports. Sixteen percent said they wished they were bigger, stronger or faster, and 13 percent said they should have practiced more.

Among coaches, 27 percent said they wished they were better teachers, and almost as many - 23 percent - said they should be more patient with the athletes they coach.

In an age when some leading athletes shy away from being role models, the Olympians are searching for someone to emulate. And the survey found that person most frequently was a coach.

Coaches were identified as role models by 23 percent of the athletes, with their fathers second at 15 percent and other athletes third at 11 percent. Fourteen percent of the athletes and 15 percent of the overall sample said they had no role models.

But when it comes to offering advice to future athletic generations, the respondents were happy to play a role.

``Work hard. Be dedicated,'' was the best advice from 36 percent of the athletes polled. Keeping sports fun and staying focused on goals each were stressed by 18 percent.