Katie Ledecky reveals everything she eats to make her ready to win Olympic gold
She's the greatest female swimmer of all time, but what does Katie Ledecky eat to make sure her body is in tip top shape for the Olympics?
Still just 27-years-old, Ledecky will compete in the gruelling women's 1500 metre freestyle tonight (31 July) for Team USA as the 2024 Paris Olympics get in to full flow.
Taking place at the Paris La Défense Arena, it'll see the American legend face off against the likes of Simona Quadarella and Anastasiya Kirpichnikova in the hope of winning her eighth Olympic gold and 12th overall medal at the Summer Games.
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In the heats for a place in the final, Ledecky showed her immense quality by finishing a quite frankly ridiculous 17 seconds ahead of her nearest competition. Surrounded by empty pool, the world record holder merely waited at the end of the pool while the other seven swimmers in her heat tried to catch up.
But what does it take for Ledecky to become as good as she is? Well, like Michael Phelps, it is a pretty intense relationship with all things food.
During the 2016 Rio Olympics, her parents revealed to ESPN exactly what she would eat to put her in pole position for a gold medal.
Getting up at 4.15am, she starts the day with two pieces of toast with peanut butter. There is then a banana or apple to go with this before driving to training.
Come 7am, when training is over, Ledecky would eat something like a bacon, egg, cheese and tomato omelette with a side of potatoes.
Next up would be a bagel with cream cheese and egg which on occasion would be a yoghurt with fruit and chocolate milk to drink.
By 8am, it was nap time. Yes, really.
The gym would then await for Ledecky from 11am to midday.
But before then she's to wolf down yoghurt, honey, granola and mixed berries. A piece of fruit such as an apple or pear would accompany that.
Lunch would be pasta and chicken or a caesar salad with double chicken and avocado, followed up by another nap.
Before taking to the pool again at 3.30pm, the American swimmer would have fruit alongside toast with more peanut butter.
After training - we're talking 6.30pm onwards - Ledecky's focus would be on yoghurt and chocolate milk before dinner, which would consist of pasta or white rice.
That'd be topped with white beans, tomato, garlic and chicken or steak - there's no room for sweets, ice cream, cake, or fizzy drinks.
Her daily calorie intake has been put at around 3,500 calories, which is 1,000 more than the average man should have and 1,500 more than the average woman.
Not quite Phelps' 10,000 to 12,000 a day, but still a mightily impressive amount of food.
Topics: Extreme Sports, Olympics, Food And Drink, Health
Tom Earnshaw