With just three days to go for the Olympics, all the athletes are certainly following a strenuous diet and a strict fitness regime. Every sportsperson has their own diet plan but some of them have unsusual foods and liquids in their diet.
Ever wondered what did the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt eat before he broke the 100m and 200m world record in the 2008 Beijing Olympics?
The Quint takes a look at the unusual diets followed by athletes who will be participating in the Rio Olympics.
1. Usain Bolt – Chicken McNuggets
Usain Bolt rose to fame after breaking the 100m and 200m world records at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But did you know he didn’t have anything close to being called a health food during the entire tournament.
Since he found the food in China very odd, he decided to mostly eat Chicken McNuggets throughout the tournament.
He approximately ate 1,000 nuggets in ten days during his stay at Beijing!
Man, I should have gotten a gold medal for all that chowing down.Usain Bolt
2. Indian Hockey Team – Black Coffee
The liquid that has helped the Indian hockey team to stay fit is none other than a simple black coffee. When the physio David John joined the team in June 2011, he asked the team to start drinking black coffee instead of lassi.
At first the players drank it reluctantly but after a few matches they noticed the change in the fitness of the entire team. Their energy level were high, reflexes improved and they were running faster.
Well, if you drink lassi, then switch to black coffee to stay fitter.
3. Ma Long – Alcohol
China’s top table-tennis player Ma Long has all bases covered when it comes to the skill set of a TT player. The 27-year-old is renowned for his scorching serve and deceptive spin. But he struggles with nerves under pressure.
And therefore his coach encourages him to drink alcohol to overcome anxiety.
For Ma Long, two things are most important. One is that when the pressure gets very high, to make him go to a bar and drink some alcohol. The other was to distract him with chit-chat.Liu Guoliang
4. Venus Williams – Raw Vegan Food
When Venus Williams is on tour, she follows a strict raw vegan diet. She eats a lot of veggies, juices and raw, sprouted foods. The four-time Olympic gold medallist is a big fan of smoothies. Her favourite smoothie is a mixture of strawberry, mango, spinach, orange juice and ginger.
Williams took up the strenuous diet after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease – Sjogren’s syndrome in 2011.
Serena Williams also follows the same diet to support her older sister.
5. Djokovic – Manuka Honey and Warm Water
How does the world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic manage to never lose his breath on the tennis court? It’s mostly because he has some interesting food and liquids in his diet plan.
Djokovic stays away from cold water and mostly drinks warm water because cold water slows down digestion and diverts blood away from his muscles.
The first thing I do out of bed is to drink a tall glass of room-temperature water.Novak Djokovic
But the other interesting aspect of his regular diet is Manuka Honey. The honey is cultivated from bees that feed on manuka trees exclusively in New Zealand.
The second thing I do might really surprise you: I eat two spoonfuls of honey every day.Novak Djokovic
Djokovic has the honey because it has anti-bacterial properties.
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