It’s hard to come up with a concrete answer as to why athletes chew gum. Gary Hermansson, a professor in Sport Psychology who’s been to numerous Olympics and Commonwealth Games with the New Zealand team, offers some insight. He says athletes often chew gum through habit, especially when it’s already been a part of their life growing up. It’s unlikely athletes deliberately decide to chew gum as a way of improving their concentration and performance.
“They use it because it’s something they’ve done and they’ve felt comfortable with, rather than any deliberate strategy or action,” says Hermansson.
Cricket is a game built around routine. Former England test cricketer Jonathan Trott used to scratch around the crease like a chicken in a coop, all to prepare him for the next delivery. Hermansson says chewing gum could be used as part of a routine.
“Sometimes chewing gum is a way of feeling like you’re doing something, you’re not just being overwhelmed by your own emotions. A player could certainly build that into a pre-shot routine, step away, touch the pads, chew the gum a bit, come back.”
An interesting case of chewing gum while playing sport is American beach volleyballer Jennifer Kessy. During a semi-final at the 2012 London Olympics, she took a timeout as she’d forgotten to chew her usual supply of gum. After sticking the gum in her mouth, she went on to take the game and advance to the final.
“There’s often a fine line between superstition and habit. Something you do all the time can then become so much part of your habit that when you aren’t in a position to do it, it creates anxiety, you feel unfamiliar and you feel like things aren’t how they should be.”
