Research On Public Image And Role Qualities Of Chinese Track And Field Elite Athletes In Information Age

Excellent Chinese Track and Field athletes have attracted increasing attention in the Information Age,under the background of the switch of the international figure of our country and the improvement of social status of sports and the development of track and field event.The establishment of their public images becomes more and more urgent.Under such circumstance however,a lot of negative news concerning our outstanding athletes came out from time to time,not only damaged public images of their own,but brought harm to the whole country and society as well.Public images of outstanding athletes come from the judgment of the crowd.When the athletes failed to meet expectations of the public,the negative reviews came out.This would lead to our series of doubts: what should the society expect of the outstanding athletes in an era when sports become an international affair? What role should the athletes play in the establishment of these public figures? And what are the relevant qualifications required? This paper is constructed on the base of Role-Theory,adopting methods including literature-review,trans-subject analysis,Delphi survey,etc.The questionnaires of 54 outstanding Chinese track and field athletes are taken into analysis,adopting Non-probabilistic sampling(a combination of convenience sampling and purposive sampling).Results of the questionnaires together with other materials lead to the conclusions concerning the current situation,existing problems and main influencing factors in the current process of public image establishment,from which our counter-measures are raised.The key determinant of the outstanding-athlete public image establishment is the current social need of sports in the era of globalization.The outstanding Chinese athletes are playing multiple parts,including the role of athletes with the core of professional skills,the role of public figures with the core of social interaction,the role of spokesmen with the core of image-shaping,the role of individuals with the core of unique personal development in terms of perception and affection.30 specific elements are sorted into 4 categories of professional skills,perception and affection,education level and public interacting skills.Based on the results of the survey,the responses from the Chinese outstanding track and field athletes,and the interview summaries,the conclusion could be drawn that there is still much room for improvement in terms of the qualifications above.We further conducted an exploratory factor analysis based on the results above,extracted 3 common factors,named as the nation-level,the management-level and training-method factor,and raised our proposal for further development.Firstly,as for the nation-level perspective,the whole sporting-system should receive more reform.The establishment of the public figure,the cultivation of public athlete qualifications,and the relevant evaluating and awarding system of outstanding athletes should be further institutionalized.Secondly,as for the management-level perspective,relevant agencies are supposed to build up a more scientific pattern,and improve related abilities in the field of outstanding athlete image management.Thirdly,bring in more social support,and let them take the lead to let out their strength in the establishment of outstanding athlete images.Fourthly,improve the awareness of the athletes,and let them take the initiative in future learning.