What Kind of Food Do Athletes Eat in the Olympic Village? Protein Shortages but Plenty of Carbs

Olympic athletes need plenty of healthy food to fuel their bodies throughout the competitions. However, the sports stars have shared both props and dissatisfaction when revealing the meals available to them in the Olympic Village.

What Kind of Foods Do Athletes Eat in the Olympic Village?

The meal hall offers salad bars, a pasta station, a grilled food menu with sides and daily specials prepped to serve to nearly 15,000 men and women each day.

While there are plenty of carb-heavy foods including pizza and breads, some athletes complained about the lack of high-protein items, including eggs and meat.

That's because Paris 2024 Olympic organizers wanted the meals to be heavier on vegan and vegetarian options in their effort to have a more "sustainable" games. More than half of 50 dishes offered each day were vegetarian.

French multinational company Sodexo provided the food for the Olympic athletes in meals concocted by seven Michelin-starred chefs, but they didn't go heavy enough on high-protein items and needed to order more as the games went on.

The Olympic Village Suffered Food Shortages With Protein Items

Honduran swimmer Julio Horrego told news agency AFP on July 29, 2024, that the morning prior, he arrived at the meal hall at 10:30 a.m. to find all of the eggs provided had already been devoured. The athlete consumes 5,000 calories a day and noted, "If you arrive a bit late, then there aren’t enough," of some items.

“We didn’t have enough meat, but now it’s solved,” Romanian rower, Iulian Chelaru told the outlet.

Other athletes complained about the portion sizes not being big enough. “Regarding the food we’ve had to make some adjustments, which is normal in operations that size,” Paris Olympics CEO Etienne Thobois said in a July 29, 2024, press conference.

By July 31, 2024, a Sodexo spokeswoman said, "Eggs and grilled meat dishes have been in high demand, so volumes have been increased significantly. For several days now the quantities offered are in line with demand.”

What Have Athletes Said About the Food in the Olympic Village?

U.S. gymnast Simone Biles gave a diplomatic answer when asked by reporters about Team USA's meals after the ladies took home the gold medal in the team all-around on July 30, 2024.

"OK, here's the thing. I don't think we're having proper French cuisine in the village like you guys might be eating because you're outside the village," she said. "For the athletes it's a little bit ... healthier."

Teammate Hezly Rivera had a much more blunt response, saying, "I don't think it's very good, at least what we're having in the dining hall. I definitely think French food is good, but what we're having in there, I don't think it's the best. But it gets the job done." Simone stepped in to add, "I thought the pizza was good."

Breakout American rugby star Ilona Maher was happy with her plate of food she shared in a July 26 TikTok video , showing how she had a crêpe, croissant and bread roll on her tray, along with plenty of butter.

“I think there’s some misconceptions on what athletes eat. We eat a lot of carbs. Fuel up, don't stay hungry," the bronze medalist said of what she was eating.