Breakfast of Champions: What Olympic athletes eat

Chicken nuggets, pepperoni?pizza, chitlins are the breakfasts of champions|

Some athletes, whether gymnasts, swimmers or race car drivers have food rituals they follow before a performance or race. While race car drivers’ pre-race diets range from wild-caught salmon to a boiled egg and a roll, Usaine Bolt reportedly eats chicken nuggets before warming up.

Gymnastics champ Simone Biles says she usually downs a banana and a protein bar before an event and a pepperoni pizza afterward as her reward. Beach volleyball star and Olympic gold medal winner Keri Walsh Jennings eats an almond butter sandwich before a match, and former star Dominique Dawes said on NBC that she would eat chicken and pasta before a performance, along with drinking cider vinegar and downing a few chitlins. I guess it’s practice that counts.

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