Late in a long contest one athlete continues to move with purpose while others have faded. That lasting capacity is stamina. It is the ability to sustain physical and mental effort over extended periods.

Stamina overlaps with endurance but often emphasizes repeated high efforts and resistance to fatigue across a whole game or multi-day event. Energy-system development, efficient technique, and psychological toughness all contribute. Heat, dehydration, and accumulated micro-damage test stamina further.

Training builds it through progressively longer or denser work sessions and through sport-specific conditioning. Recovery practices determine how fully stamina can be expressed in successive competitions. In many sports the athlete with superior stamina dictates the tempo when others are obliged to slow down.

Stamina turns good early performances into complete ones.