Excellence in sport: a study centered on the life story of 14-time world champion Thierry Gueorgiou

This paper seeks to identify the factors and characteristics that determine the development and maintenance of excellence in orienteering, by examining the life of an athlete who has been a world champion 14 times. "Life Stories" were used as a method to collect data. The data was collected by conducting semi-structured interviews and an analysis of various documents. This data was then analyzed using the content analysis method. The results highlight the need for successful interaction between socio-contextual and socio-personal factors over time. Therefore, achieving excellence in orienteering is a multidimensional process that must be understood using a bio-psycho-socio-axiological perspective.