What Do Olympians Eat for Breakfast?

The road to the Olympics is paved with carbs.

An estimated 15,000 athletes are prepared to compete in Paris this summer. Most will arrive with detailed plans for what to eat before, during and after their events.

“Part of their training is their nutrition,” said Sarah Wick, a sports dietitian and the director of sports nutrition for the Ohio State Sports Medicine Institute. “It’s just like strength and conditioning. They need to know just what nutrition they need, and when they need it.”

High-performance athletes require plenty of carbohydrates for energy and enough protein to repair their muscles and recover between workouts. Every event and athlete has different needs, but they all require fuel, and lots of it. Still, that doesn’t mean they’re eating only health foods.

Usain Bolt, for one, estimated that he ate 100 McDonalds chicken nuggets each day at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, because they were a familiar food he knew his stomach could handle. He went on to win three gold medals.

We asked a handful of Paris-bound Olympians to share their food diaries and photos from a typical training week in the lead-up to the Games.

Here are their breakfast routines, along with a few other snack highlights.