This is what Olympians eat in Japan (and we want it too!)

As an Olympic athlete, you obviously need pretty great nutrition, and when you also have two actual food courts at your disposal where (judging by appearances) incredibly delicious things are prepared right in front of you, surely that only makes you run faster or perform better, right?

An Olympic Village is naturally something to be curious about anyway, and thanks to social media and the many young athletes who are more than happy to share fun posts, we’re now seeing fascinating sides of the village that had remained under the radar until now. And of course, we’re especially curious about the food! Apparently, some athletes have been complaining about the ‘Japanese-oriented food’, which we don’t understand at all, but fortunately other athletes are incredibly enthusiastic—which we do understand very well.

Plenty of choice

Two enormous food halls, in fact, one of which is entirely devoted to Japanese cuisine; surely you’d want to go there?! The fact that you need iron discipline and God-given athletic talent to get there makes this completely out of reach for us, unfortunately, so we’re more than happy to feast along with these Olympians’ TikTok videos:

Gyoza for the win, with fried camembert on the side

According to this rugby player from America, the gyoza (because of course she isn’t going to make those gyoza herself) are the absolute tastiest, and she eats them with every meal! And as a counterpart: deep-fried cheese, nomnomnomnom…

@ilonamaherI eat them for every meal ##beastbeautybrains ##olympics ##tokyoolympics ##dininghall ##tokyo2020 ##gyoza ##dumpling♬ original sound – Ilona Maher

@ilonamaherYes, I’m an Olympian but I still like cheese ##beastbeautybrains ##olympics ##tokyoolympics ##tokyo2020 ##ClearGenius ##dininghall ##teamusa ##olympicvillage♬ original sound – Ilona Maher

Japan’s food paradise

Volleyball player Erik Shoji (Team USA) takes us through the ‘casual’ dining area, which is entirely dedicated to Japanese cuisine and where dishes from various Japanese regions are prepared. If you let us loose here, we wouldn’t show up for another start, so thumbs up to all those gorgeous athletes who manage to drag themselves away from here towards the diving board, centre spot or parallel bars.

@theliberoDinner tonight in the Tokyo Olympic Village! Also watching me eat is CRINGE ##olympics ##DontQuitYourDaydream ##tokyo2020 ##tokyo2021 ##food♬ original sound – Erik Shoji

Reviewing the food options

Australian tennis player Daria Gavrivola gives us another virtual tour of the ‘main dining hall’, while basketball player Alison Gibson casually reviews a few different options, including the pho noodle soup.

@daria_gavtennisWhich cuisine would you go for? ##olympics ##teamaustralia ##olympicspirit ##tokyoolympics♬ Drive Forever – Tendency Challenge

@agibblesOlympic Village eats ##tokyo2020 ##olympicspirit ##olympicvillage ##foodie ##olympics ##fypage ##prbasketball ##olympicathletes ##lunch♬ Happy and fun corporate music for advertising. – TimTaj

We’re queuing for the chicken katsu, agreed?

Isn’t it fascinating that, besides choosing between different ingredients, you can also choose a specific preparation method?! If not a gram is allowed because you have to step on the scales tomorrow as a lightweight judoka, you’ll probably choose a steamed fish, but hey, if you’re allowed to do sumo tomorrow, you’ll obviously make a beeline for the tonkatsu counter! I know where you’d find me… Anyway, best of luck to all the Olympians—go for it!

Also read:

• Workout with bottles of wine: bye-bye, gym!
• Why combining exercise with meal plans is a really good idea
• 11 bizarre Japanese food facts

Source: TimeOut