News | Tuesday, 24th August 2021

Tokyo Paralympics 2020: How do elite athletes fuel?

Nutrition expert Ozcan Esen looks at the extent to which diet impacts performance

By Ozcan Esen, Lecturer in Sport Nutrition at Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport, registered sports nutritionist and former professional swimmer 

We saw some astonishing displays of human performance during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and we’re about to witness it all again with the Paralympics. For the athletes who have competed already, it seems that food was more than just simply fuel. Olympians from all over the world took to TikTok during the Games to showcase the quality of food on offer in the Olympic Village, with everything from deep fried camembert to ramen available.

While some were willing to try new things, most will have stuck to what they know under the guidance of their nutritionists. When the smallest of performance margins can make the difference between getting a medal or not, everything comes under intense scrutiny, including food.

Nutrition was the missing component during my own athletic career. I tried multiple diets whilst competing in world and European championships in swimming and everyone suggested what I should be eating, but without any scientific knowledge behind it. 

Perfect nutrition will never make you an Olympic or Paralympic champion. It comes third on the list of necessities, after talent and training. But, crucially, if you have poor nutrition, it can prevent you from reaching your full potential. 

Athletes and their nutritionists need to focus on what they eat, how much they eat, and when – or what I refer to as the ‘three Ts’: total, time, and type. These three things are critical to increase the chances of success at Olympic or Paralympic level.

Supplements and superfoods

Athletes will try everything nutrition and supplement-wise if they think it will give them a slight edge over their competitors or knock a millisecond off their personal best. A lot of things simply won’t work, but some may improve performance.

There are two types of supplements: for training, and for competition. Creatine – the oldest supplement in sport history – can improve training capacity by enabling muscles to recover more quickly during exercise. For competition, nitrate supplementation can improve oxygen feed to working muscles and decrease energy cost.

The preference for different supplements tends to change over time. Caffeine, which was actually banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency until 2004, has been one of the most popular supplements in recent years. Since the London Olympics, however, this has been overtaken in popularity as a nitrate by beetroot juice.  

For athletes competing in quick succession, such as track cyclists or team sports players who might have matches in consecutive days, recovery is really important. They might turn to cherry, pomegranate or watermelon juice, which can all help to decrease muscle soreness and have an antioxidant effect.

Plant-based power?

Nutritionists often get asked whether elite athletes can get everything they need from a vegan diet. Veganism has seen a huge surge in popularity in recent years, and has been credited by global sports stars such as Novak Djokovic and Lewis Hamilton as being a reason for their success.

The simple answer is that yes, athletes can get everything they need from a plant-based diet. But one thing we need to make absolutely clear is that it will not increase or decrease your performance. There is no scientific evidence to suggest it has an effect either way. It’s simply a matter of individual preference.

The key point for athletes is about how much carbohydrates and protein they consume. There is no problem getting this from a plant-based diet. However, there are a few things to consider with veganism. You often see people pitting meat and plant-based alternatives against each other. Raw beef and broccoli is a common comparison. Yes, you can get the same amount of protein from both depending on how much you eat, but it’s the amino acids that could be the issue.

There are nine essential amino acids, and humans cannot produce these nine in the body. Broccoli contains all these amino acids but in really low amounts. In contrast, beef and chicken have high amounts, which means the body absorbs it faster and muscle recovery is faster. If athletes have multiple training or competition sessions in a day, which is usually the case, this means faster recovery is key for them.

Another small consideration with vegan diets is calorie content. To get the same amount of protein as meat, you will need to eat more grams of a plant-based alternative. This means more carbohydrates and more calories. If an athlete has a weight management strategy or participates in a weight restricted sport, this could be an issue.

Heat mitigation

It was incredibly hot during the Tokyo Olympic Games, and we saw several athletes collapse due to heat exhaustion. If temperatures stay at a similar level for the Paralympics, it’s something that athletes and their coaching teams will need to be prepared for. Rehydration strategies are very important.

Most athletes drink sports drinks – different from energy drinks – because water is not always enough. Sports drinks contain carbohydrates plus electrolytes like sodium that are important for muscle fuel regeneration. With this kind of heat and level of physical exertion, drinking only water can destroy the osmotic balance between salt and water in the body, potentially leading to health problems.

It’s also really important to consider core body temperature. Scientists have realised that performing in very hot climates is not just about hydration; it’s also about maintaining core temperature at an appropriate degree. For extremely hot environments, athletes should drink very cold drinks or iced-based drinks like slushies.

Cold drinks increase palatability which increases fluid intake and promotes a positive effect on hydration status. Ice-based drinks enhance the body’s heat storage capacity and can help to maintain core body temperature.

A serious business

With a four year build up, plus an extra year this time round, Olympians and Paralympians will make sure their diets are honed to perfection by the time the competition begins. Food is taken so seriously that at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Team GB hired a building, brought their own chef, and created their own kitchen. It was perhaps a wise move – many athletes at Sochi went on to complain about the standard of food in the Olympic Village.

If athlete reviews from Tokyo are anything to go off, it seems that Paralympians can rest assured that they will be able to maintain their strict nutrition regimes once they’re out there and won’t have to compromise on enjoyment.