Food of champions: secrets of nutrition of 10 famous athletes

No wonder they say: you are what you eat. Successful training and achievements in sports directly depend on the athlete's diet. At the same time, there is no universal diet: one of the champions becomes a strict vegetarian, someone chooses a sandwich, and someone prefers their national cuisine.

In this issue, we will talk about the taste preferences of ten famous champions who, thanks to their diet, not only retain their strength, but also achieve new sporting heights.

Viktor Ahn (real name - Ahn Hyun-soo) is a Russian short-track athlete of Korean origin, 6-time Olympic champion. By nature, he is an owl, so he prefers to have breakfast later. Usually, for the main meal, Victor chooses uncomplicated products like cereal with milk, toast with cheese and meat, and tea. A pure-blooded Korean born in Seoul, Ahn does not deny himself dishes of his native cuisine, and from traditional Russian dishes he especially respects borscht and pancakes.

Serious physical exertion is common for triathlete Miranda Carfre: in a day she swims 4 kilometers, runs 11 kilometers and rides a bicycle for almost 90 kilometers. It is not surprising that the athlete loves delicious and healthy food, but prefers those dishes that do not take more than 20 minutes to prepare. According to Miranda, the ideal food for a triathlete is a quinoa salad with steak: this dish is not only delicious, but also rich in protein and gluten-free.

In 2008, 20-year-old Spaniard Kilian Jornet won one of the most difficult long—distance marathons in the world - the 167-kilometer Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc. After that, a whole series of victories followed. It takes Kilian an average of 6 hours a day to train. To refresh and recuperate, he prefers cold gazpacho made of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.

18 years ago, in 2002, the world-famous mountaineer Steph Davis decided to become a strict vegetarian. It took her more than a year to find the optimal diet that would not reduce her athletic performance. Since then, the American rock climber has achieved considerable success in base jumping and wingsuit. Today, Steph's daily schedule includes yoga, running and 3 hours of rock climbing. After a day of exhausting workouts, her choice is tofu fried in oil with ginger.

Olympic skier Andy Newell likes to bake pancakes according to his grandfather's old recipe. Carb-rich pastries give him the energy he needs for two to three hours of intense training. In order to have more protein in the dish, the athlete drives a few eggs into the dough and adds Greek yogurt.

Once the climber Ueli Stack, thanks to his incredible speed, was nicknamed the Swiss Car. In order for the athlete to successfully conduct daily 4-hour workouts, his diet was designed to be high-calorie at the same time, but not to make the climber slower. Before training, Stack usually ate sandwiches with butter and honey, fruit and drank a couple of cups of coffee, and after training preferred risotto with mushrooms. Unfortunately, in the spring of 2017, a famous climber from Switzerland died during an attempt to conquer Mount Everest.

Snowboarders usually do not bother much in choosing food and can eat at least cheeseburgers. But Olympian Louis Vito decided that in order to be the best of the best, he needs proper nutrition. Now his lunch usually consists of salmon, pasta and broccoli.

Scientists have proven that swimmers spend much more calories than many other athletes. This is especially true for long-distance swimming. Lewis Pu, 45, from South Africa, is known for swimming 140 kilometers around the Maldives and taking part in a 1 km race at the foot of Mount Everest. This extreme swimmer considers a nutritious breakfast to be the most important in the diet. After a warm-up swim in the Atlantic Ocean for an hour and a half, he prefers an omelet with cheese and salmon, yogurt and strawberries.

American swimmer Dana Vollmer, 4-time Olympic champion and multiple world champion, suffers from gluten intolerance. But an athlete needs to consume as many calories as possible. Their main source is carbohydrates contained in cereals, most of which contain gluten. However, the American woman found the optimal dish for herself — a special gluten-free pizza.

Axel Svindal is a Norwegian alpine skier, so it would be logical to assume that he eats a lot of salmon. But everything is not so predictable — the Olympic champion and two-time world champion prefers a classic big sandwich with lots of vegetables and turkey. All this he washes down with a glass of one percent milk.