Article: Fear an obstacle many athletes must learn to overcome.(Originated from Knight-Ridder Newspapers)

It was at a meet this summer when fear moved from an abstract concept to something very real for Southern Methodist University diver Alysson Sweet.

She was preparing for a reverse 2 1/2 off the 3-meter springboard, a dive she had performed innumerable times, a dive she practically could do in her sleep. But this time, something close to panic, to terror, gripped her.

``I visualize things, and I couldn't picture myself doing the dive,'' Sweet said. ``I was incredibly afraid, and just felt like even though I'd done the dive a thousand times, I just felt like I couldn't do it. I had never been that afraid of anything.''

Her first instinct ...

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