What fuels an Olympian? 3 athletes share what they eat in typical day.
Before your favorite athlete steps on the mat, runs on the field or dives in the pool, they have to fuel themselves. But what do they eat?
The 2024 Olympics officially kicked off Friday, with thousands of athletes and spectators from around the world descending on Paris to watch the best of the best compete.
To get a better idea of what keeps Olympians going strong, we heard from three athletes about what they eat in a typical day. Here's what they said:
Suni Lee
Age: 21
Sport: Gymnastics. During her first Olympic run at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, Lee won the individual all-around champion title at 18 years old, making her the first Asian American woman to win the title. Now she's in Paris for her second Games, competing alongside teammate Simone Biles for Team USA.
A day of eating: Due to her kidney disease diagnosis last year and longtime journey with eczema, Lee told CBS News she's been focused on a low-sodium diet to prevent any flare-ups.
"I like to eat pretty healthy because if I feel my best I know I can go out there and compete at my best," she said of her eating philosophy. "I love my fruits and my vegetables. I try and eat as healthy as possible, especially leading up to competitions — getting my good protein in and carbs because that's important too because we need energy."
Before her 8-11:30 a.m. practice, Lee said she likes to have a smoothie or another light option.
"I don't like to feel bloated at practice," she explained. "Afterwards I'll have like a salad, something light again, whether it's a smoothie or even a protein bar or protein shake. And then I'll have practice again from 4 to 8. And then I'll have dinner."
While she said she's been loving protein smoothies lately, she doesn't focus too much on numbers or specific nutrient goals — "It's more relaxed for me," she said.
"I feel like if you just restrict yourself, you're not having fun with it, and I don't want to create an unhealthy relationship with food. So I just kind of do what I want and it works. It's been working," she said. "I try not to think about it too much."
Another go-to for the gymnast? Adding electrolytes to her drinks. "I do get dehydrated really fast," she said.
Steph Rovetti
Age: 32
Sport: Rugby. The Paris Games will be the first Olympics for Reno-native Rovetti, who made her debut playing for the United States at the USA Women's Sevens tournament in 2018.
A day of eating: On competition days, Rovetti told CBS News she sometimes wakes up without much of an appetite — but she's "learned some tricks to be able to fuel during this time," she said.
"For breakfast, I try and eat two eggs, breakfast potatoes, a breakfast meat, spinach and fruit. Sometimes my 'nervous belly' doesn't let me eat that, so in this case, I typically bring a plain gluten-free protein cereal (KetoCrunch) and throw some berries on it. I know I can always get that down (and) that provides me with enough protein and carbs to start fueling. And of course, coffee."
A typical lunch post-game looks like white rice, chicken and a vegetable.
"I typically start with the carb and protein these days to prioritize those elements," she said. "For the second game, I repeat the process — BoBos (oat) bar, apple sauce then post-game protein and electrolytes."
Dinner is similar to lunch: "Rice or potatoes, chicken or steak, and more vegetables with this meal, as it will be a big part of recovery for the following day," she said. "If I didn't get enough food that day, I will have a protein snack after dinner, like yogurt with fruit."
Cullen Jones
Age: 40
Sport: Swimming. The former competitor won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay at the 2008 Olympics, becoming the first African-American to hold a world record in swimming. In 2012, he brought home even more swimming medals. Now, he's a swim lesson advocate who will be in Paris to cheer on this year's athletes as a guest host for the Team USA house.
A day of eating: Jones told CBS News that when you're awake early for a 5 a.m. practice where you're trying to go as fast as possible, you've "got to fuel your body."
"It could be a shake, but most important, you want to get protein in your body. So when it comes to practice, I would always have some kind of shake. I've now been going to more of the veggie proteins, and it's been great for me. I do whey, I do all of it, but the shake and the protein is really, really important."
Next comes breakfast, where protein is the star of the show again.
"We have as much protein as possible," he said, adding there's a longtime myth about carbo-loading, or loading up on lots of carbohydrates.
"It is a myth. It has never helped any of us at the Olympic level," he said. "We do eat carbs, don't get me wrong, because we need that fast energy, but it's so, so important to make sure you're having your protein because it burns slower, and we're just churning out so many calories."
Another staple in his diet then and now: Veggies.
"I'm sorry, I'm gonna lose half of the listeners, especially if they're young, (but) you gotta eat vegetables," he said. "They're so good for you, and it helps you, especially when it comes to getting to that next level."
Jones also takes a more relaxed approach to nutrition, not focusing too much on exact calories or protein intake — instead, aiming for whole foods over processed options.
"Ideally, I'd love to get it from actual foods, rather than protein shakes. I'd rather get it from whole foods, so I was really focused on that more than anything," he said.
Jones also revealed the snack that went the fastest in USA's team room: peanut butter and jelly.
"You can never get peanut butter and jelly— everyone's always grabbing them up," he said. "The trail mix was a very close second, but we were constantly eating protein and peanut butter."
