Usain Bolt managed to win eight Olympic gold medals over eight years on a diet which mainly comprised McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets – but it is not the most unusual diet in sport
Olympian Daley Thompson has revealed his sporting success was fuelled by junk food.
The record-breaking gold medallist put his decathlon wins down to fizzy drinks and chips – and refused to eat vegetables.
Regular diets for athletes taking part in the historic event normally consume 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day, eating an array of nutrients to cover all basis.
And while Thompson’s eating habits it may not be the usual diet you would associate with a sports star, plenty of others have followed quite bizarre regimes.
So Daily Star has taken a look into the kitchen cupboards of some sports stars with the most bizarre diets…
Jamie Vardy
In his autobiography, the Leicester footballer revealed his diet – plenty of port and Red Bull. He said every night, before a game, he would drink port from a Lucozade bottle and three cans of Red Bull on matchdays.
Usain Bolt
The sprinter ran to victory at the 2008 Beijing Olympics on a diet of McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets. Bolt, who broke three world records at the competition, estimated he ate around 1,000 nuggets during 10 days in the Athletes’ Village.
Kazakhstan’s Olympic weightlifters
During London 2012, the Asian country’s Olympic weightlifters and wrestlers had a secret weapon – horse meat. Prized kazy (dried horse meat sausage) and karta (a delicacy made from the animal’s large intestine) were shipped over for the team to eat.
Peter Crouch
The lanky former forward was a fan of McDonald’s during his footballing career and revealed that, while he was reading rumours he was in a helicopter to Stoke on 2011 transfer deadline day, he was actually sat in the fast food restaurant scoffing a burger.
During the 2010 World Cup, he was also part of an England team which paid hotel staff to smuggle in McDonald’s and Nando’s after then-manager Fabio Capello banned players from eating fast food.
Michael Phelps
American Olympic swimmer Phelps scoffed down a massive 10,000 calories a day, including a whole kilo of pasta, pizzas and pancakes. His unlikely diet must have helped him to victory, as Phelps, who retired in 2016, is the most decorated athlete in Olympic history having won 28 medals across five games.
Lyoto Machida
In 2009, the Brazilian MMA fighter revealed his very unique secret for gaining an advantage over his opponents – drinking his own wee. He told a Brazilian magazine that he also put it on his hands to “toughen up the skin”. He claimed drinking urine boosted his immune system, but most health experts would advise not to try this one at home.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
The former wrestler and American football player has maintained his impressive physique. He eats almost a kilo of cod every day, topped up with fish oils. He also shares his epic “cheat days” on social media. The post which got the most hits showed him eating 12 pancakes, four double dough pizzas and 21 brownies in one go.
Source: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/other-sports/sport-diets-usain-bolt-vardy-23822664
