Her “Redemption Tour” is finally done! Fans are wondering if Simone Biles will be ready to close out at the 2024 Paris Closing Ceremony after making history at the Olympics once again.
Simone Biles became the second-most decorated female gymnast in Olympic history with 11 medals in total. She closed out her competitions by winning silver in Women’s Floor behind Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. She won gold in the Women’s Artistic Individual All-Around, Women’s Artistic Team All-Around, and Women’s Vault competitions.
With Simone Biles wearing a boot as a “precaution” after her events, it seems like the Olympic gymnasts already have plans after the events. “We’re resting up as much as possible,” Biles explained to Today. “We have tour in a couple weeks. So, I’m just going to rest and heal.” Her husband Jonathan Owens left before the Closing Ceremony for NFL Chicago Bears training.
Will Simone Biles be at the 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony?
Historically, Simone Biles has appeared at the Closing Ceremony of the Olympics. She was Team USA’s flagbearer during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics Closing Ceremony and she’ll likely appear at the 2024 Paris Closing Ceremony. She didn’t appear during the Paris Opening Ceremony because she was resting for herfirst competition on the Sunday after.
After she won silver during the Women’s Floor Finals, which was her last competition at the 2024 Olympics, she said, “I’m not very upset or anything about my performance at the Olympics. I’m happy, proud, and even more excited that it’s over.”
She posted all her accomplishments on social media and brought her fans with her to the Olympic Village with several Get Ready With Me videos. However, she also posted on X, “you guys really gotta stop asking athletes what’s next after they win a medal at the Olympics” She continued in the thread, “let us soak up the moment we’ve worked our whole lives for.”
As to whether or not she’ll be competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, she told NBC’s Mike Tirico, “I’m a lot happier and I chose to do this. So at the end of the day, whatever happens, happens. But I’m in a good spot mentally and physically, so you can’t take that away from me. So whenever I’m out there, it’s just pure joy. Can’t believe I’m out there again, competing, representing my country, just having fun doing what I love.”
British swimmer Adam Peaty was the first athlete to reveal he had COVID-19 at the Paris Olympics, a day after winning silver in the men’s 100-m breaststroke at La Defense Arena.
In a statement, Team GB said Peaty had started feeling sick, with throat symptoms, before his race on July 28, that his symptoms got worse afterward, and he then tested positive for COVID-19.
Since then, nearly a dozen swimmers, including several members of the Australian women’s water-polo team, have tested positive, raising questions about how widely the virus is spreading, especially in the pool.
A spokesperson for Paris 2024 said in an emailed statement to TIME that the organization is encouraging athletes to practice good infection-control behaviors such as “wearing a mask in the presence of others, limiting contacts and washing hands regularly with soap and water or using hand sanitizer.”
For now, there does not appear to be an outbreak, but, as cases of COVID-19 rise around the world—in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the number of infections is growing in 36 states—it’s inevitable that the virus would make an appearance at the Olympics, where thousands of athletes and millions of spectators have gathered.
But the rules surrounding COVID-19—including vaccination recommendations, who gets tested, isolation procedures, and masking guidance—are very different at the Paris Games than they were during the Tokyo Olympics. In Tokyo, in the summer of 2021, athletes—and the media who had contact with them in interview zones—were tested regularly. Anyone testing positive was immediately isolated and remained separated from others until they tested negative. While vaccination wasn’t mandated, most national Olympic sports organizations, including the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), strongly recommended that athletes be up-to-date with their COVID-19 shot. Officials also conducted temperature checks for anyone entering any competition to monitor for fevers, one symptom of an infection. To further limit the possibility of an outbreak, no spectators were allowed at those Games.
In Paris, the fans are back, virtually none of them wearing masks, and there is no regular testing of athletes. A spokesperson for the USOPC said in emailed responses to questions from TIME that American athletes are generally tested only if they have symptoms such as a persistent cough, fever, or sore throat, or if they are just generally feel unwell, and COVID-19 is being treated like any other respiratory illness such as the cold or flu. That means there is no rule preventing athletes from training or competing, just as there isn’t anything from stopping someone with the sniffles or a stuffy nose.
To protect other Olympians, however, since athletes share rooms and countries occupy the same living space in the Olympic Village, if athletes test positive, they are generally moved to a single room to limit the chance of getting others sick. The USOPC is also arranging for separate transportation for them to and from practices and events and delivering their meals so they won’t need to be in the public dining hall. Medical clinics at the Olympics also have isolation rooms to accommodate people who test positive.
“We will allow them to train and compete as long as they feel up to it,” the USOPC spokesperson said.
Those practices follow guidance from the CDC, which advises people who test positive to stay home and away from others but suggest returning to normal activities when symptoms have improved and any fever has resolved on its own (without medications) for at least 24 hours. People can still spread the virus at that point, so the CDC recommends frequent hand-washing, wearing masks, and practicing social distancing in crowded indoor settings for at least five days. “Keep in mind that you may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better,” the agency says on its website. “You are likely to be less contagious at this time, depending on factors like how long you were sick or how sick you were.”
The cases involving water sports raises the question of whether being in the water with infected athletes increases the risk of spread. Early in the pandemic, the CDC advised that pools don’t carry any heightened risk of spreading the virus, but the enclosed spaces people use for swimming such as locker rooms, showers, and the pool area itself might promote transmission because of the poor ventilation in those areas.
The Paris 2024 spokesperson said “we are carefully monitoring the health situation in close coordination with the Ministry of Health.”
All right, gang, enough about the Paris Games and the 2024 presidential race, this is truly big news: Lady Gaga’s finally confirmed her engagement to longtime beau and tech entrepreneur Michael Polansky.
As reported bysheknows website, the cagey Lady G. and Polansky “have been engaged since the spring.”
Speculation about the couple has been running rampant during the 2024 Olympics in Paris where a black-clad Lady G. sang during the opening ceremony amid a sweeping panoply hot pink plumage:
When French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal thanked the Artist Formerly Known As Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in a video posted on his TikTok. The video featured a snippet of idle conversation between the politician and the Mother Monster in which she seemed to reveal the engagement:
Lady Gaga – Mon Truc en Plumes (Live from The 2024 Paris Olympics)www.youtube.com
And yes, it would seem that Lady G did reveal the engagement. Finally. I mean, it has been years since announcing their romance in February 2020.
Will Lady Gaga, resplendent in a wedding gown made of, say, fake Emu feathers, and trailing old, unspooled 8-track tapes, soon be walking down the aisle? Seems things are headed that way. Though she may have kept the engagement under wraps, Lady G.’s spoken about Polansky over the years. A 2021 Hollywood Reporter story quoted her as saying: My dogs and the man that I love are my whole life.”
Some of us might wonder about the billing order, but hey – we wish the two lovebirds the very best.
Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik—a.k.a. “The Pommel Horse guy”—introduced Americans to more than just a niche sporting event when he helped the U.S. men’s gymnastics team clinch a bronze medal on July 29. He also raised awareness for an eye condition called strabismus, the apparent reason for the now-viral glasses he wears while waiting for his turn to compete, and which he hoisted in the air while celebrating with his team.
Dr. William Flanary, an ophthalmologist with EyeHealth Northwest in Oregon—best known for the satirical videos he posts as his comedic alter-ego, Dr. Glaucomflecken—posted on X that Nedoroscik’s fame is “possibly the greatest moment for glasses in Olympic history.”
“Just seeing someone like him on such a huge stage, winning an Olympic medal and unabashedly wearing his glasses…does a lot for making it normal,” Flanary tells TIME.
Here’s what to know about strabismus.
What is strabismus?
Strabismus is the medical term for being cross-eyed, or having eyes that point in different directions. Typically, the brain sorts through information transmitted by each eye to create a cohesive visual picture and assess distance and depth. When there’s misalignment between the eyes, as with strabismus, “you can actually see two images” instead of one, explains Dr. Dean Cestari, director of adult strabismus care at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. This often leads to sight issues like double vision, blurry vision, and light sensitivity, Cestari says.
Nedoroscik recently told Todaythat his vision is not clear without his glasses. He has also posted on TikTok about having light sensitivity.
For some people with strabismus, one eye is always the one to turn in, out, up, or down. In other people, however, the turned eye can alternate, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). The latter is the case for Nedoroscik, who has posted on TikTok about his ability to “switch [his] dominant eye,” a skill that he said at the time he could find little information about.
(Note to Nedoroscik: Flanary says this ability is fairly common among people with strabismus and is known as “alternating fixation.”)
Strabismus can occur due to problems with the muscles and nerves that control the eyes, as a side effect of an eye injury or other medical condition, or as a complication from significant far-sightedness, the AOA says. It can also run in families. An estimated 30% of children with strabismus have a family member with a similar diagnosis, the Cleveland Clinic says.
Nedoroscik has also posted about having coloboma, a condition that leads to missing eye tissue. “Colomba can cause decreased vision or blurry vision, but it can also cause an elongation of the eyeball. Depending on how elongated the eye is, that can result in a strabismus,” Cestari explains.
How is strabismus treated?
The earlier strabismus is treated, the better, Flanary says. Kids with untreated strabismus will often learn to “basically turn off vision in [their turned] eye and ignore that eye,” Flanary explains. Over time, that coping mechanism can lead to long-term vision problems in the turned eye, or what is colloquially known as a lazy eye.
That said, it’s never too late to treat strabismus, says Cestari, who specializes in treating adults. “The most common sentence I hear is, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know this could be fixed as an adult,’” he says. “It’s absolutely not true” that only kids can be treated.
Depending on the person and the details of their case, a pair of glasses in the right prescription may be all that’s necessary to straighten vision and address strabismus, Flanary says. But in some cases, according to the Cleveland Clinic, people may also need eye exercises, surgery, medications, or “patching”—purposely covering one eye to strengthen the other.
Nedoroscik’s glasses have become his much-memed trademark during the Olympics, although he doesn’t wear them when he’s competing. “When I go up on the pommel horse, it’s all about feeling the equipment,” he told Today. I don’t even really see when I’m doing my gymnastics. It’s all in the hands—I can feel everything.”
Damon Treitler regularly swims at Yorktown High School in Arlington, Virginia, and each time he does, he notices Torri Huske’s name on the board there.
It lists the record holders, and her name appears often. Behind the glass on display at the Yorktown Aquatics Center, many of the accolades bear her name, too.
“My son is 16, he’s in high school, and all his friends are abuzz about, ‘Hey, Yorktown, hometown girl made good,’” Treitler said. “It’s happening. It’s all over the place.”
Kathy Koczyk, who said she helped teach Huske the butterfly when she was a child, said Huske’s Olympic success isn’t a surprise. Even as a kid, she was a quick learner and great listener, Koczyk said.
“What it proves to me, which is what I love, is it’s the technique,” Koczyk said. “Because you don’t have to have brawn and heights in the water if you have the right technique. You can beat even big people.”
Meanwhile, Amy Potter said she used to swim the butterfly as a kid, “so I know how hard it is. And she was flying.”
Outside the Long Bridge and Aquatics and Fitness Center near Crystal City, Miki said Huske is “amazing. We’re really lucky for her to be representing us.”
In a series called Mondo Appropriato, Culled Culture examines how “on the nose” something is in the pop cultural and/or political landscape.
As the Olympics kicks of this weekend, it bears noting that, thus far, the most “iconic” thing about it has been Sabrina Carpenter’s somewhat random promotion for the event (sorry, Paris Hilton). While, sure, positioning her in a Parisian café (which is probably just a backlot in Burbank) drinking espresso makes sense because of her hit single of the same name, it really doesn’t have much pertinence apart from that. Nonetheless, the setup is that Carpenter is reading a newspaper (because, apparently, that’s how “quaint” Americans think Paris is) at an outdoor table when an animated blue bird (one that looks not unlike the former Twitter logo) flies to Carpenter’s table and starts chirping at her.
Rather than being annoyed or frightened, Carpenter is apparently so keyed up on espresso that she now has the ability to speak “Bird,” responding, “Well hello there, handsome.” The bird chirps again. “Why yes, I am Sabrina Carpenter.” Chirp chirp. “Oh thank you, so nice to meet a fan.” Chirp chirp. “Okay, settle down. We just met.” Chirp chirp. “What am I doing in Paris? Isn’t it obvious? The Olympics.” Chirp chirp. “The amazing opening ceremony on the Seine, Simone’s epic comeback, the USA-Australia rivalry in the pool and the world’s fastest man and woman, Noah [Lyles] and Sha’Carri (Richardson), racing for Team USA—I’ve never been more excited for anything in my life.” She’s obviously not counting every time Barry Keoghan drops trou.
The bird, now standing in between six cups of espresso after listening to her one-woman rant, starts chirping more frenetically than ever, prompting Carpenter to smilingly say, “You need to behave yourself,” laughingly adding, “You’re crazy!” But, of course, the only crazy one in this scenario is her, as she’s having both visual and auditory hallucinations (the latter tends to be more common when it comes to imbibing too much espresso). Thanks to what, a few paltry cups of espresso? Of course, that notion doesn’t help to debunk the stereotype that most Europeans already have about Americans when it comes to coffee: that they’re little bitches who can’t handle their caffeine and wouldn’t know what good café tasted like if Alfonso Bialetti himself poured it down their throats. Their “precious” constitutions apparently limited only to being able to withstand high amounts of processed foods (including, of course, burgers, fries and hot dogs). And beer. But not even the hearty German shit—just the watered-down Millers and Buds they knock back without a second thought (the same goes for American coffee portions, which, although offering more in quantity, are never as effective as the small, undiluted cups that Europeans drink—hence, the American inability to “withstand” them, as they insist they’re getting “high”).
Watching Carpenter “hallucinate” on this drug—and yes, it is arguably the world’s most socially acceptable one apart from the internet—it’s not as though the premise is totally unbelievable. Especially since people who suffer from stress already are more prone to being affected by some of the more profound side effects of caffeine. And what could be more stressful than being a famous singer?—particularly a famous female singer who has to worry about what she looks like all the time, lest an unflattering image makes the cut for internet immortality. Plus, she also has to work late (therefore, needs the caffeine to stay up, n’est-ce pas?). So, bottom line: stress. And for once, the pay grade actually matches the stress level. Which is why Carpenter taking un petit coffee break is simultaneously healing and hurting. Indeed, a better concept for her would have been to spoof the cardboard beds in the Olympic Village with “Please Please Please,” performing the same kind of “acrobatic” (that’s code for: kama sutra-related) moves that many of the athletes have been testing out for themselves on social media to see if the beds can withstand certain, let’s say, “rigorous” nighttime activities.
Unfortunately, she went for the less tailored, more random option (if this were an Olympics in Italy, then, sure, playing up the “Espresso” angle would make more sense, but Paris doesn’t exactly have a renowned reputation for the beverage in such a way). And so, as she giggles to herself thinking that she’s giggling with a bird, the camera then pans out to show two waiters, one of whom tells the other in French, “I think she’s had enough espresso.” Additional translation: “Stop giving the dainty American the ‘hard’ stuff she can’t handle.” Unless you want a lawsuit on your hands because they find you responsible for giving too much of what they specifically asked for. After all, that’s that them Americans.
The Olympics are all about the unexpected. And for marathon swimmers and triathletes, that includes a notoriously unpredictable partner—the venue, which is typically an ocean, a lake or, in the case of the Paris Olympics, the city’s historic river Seine.
As iconic as the Seine is, with its picturesque vantage points of city landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Musee d’Orsay, it’s also a contaminated body of water. There are enough risks to human health that the city has banned swimming in the Seine for more than 100 years.
But Olympic organizers wanted to change that, even temporarily, by staging the marathon swimming and swimming portion of the triathlon in the river, and poured $1.5 billion into building a huge tank under the Seine to hold stormwater during heavy rains and storms. The water in the tank is then funneled, gradually, into a wastewater facility where it is treated and then the clean water is flowed back into the Seine. Engineers also upgraded sewage pipes from boats and docks along the Seine to limit the amount of contaminated sewage seeping into the river.
But as of the end of July, testing continues to reveal unsafe levels of bacteria—particularly E. coli and enterococcus—in the water. The levels vary, depending on a number of factors, from the amount of rain to the number of sunny days and the speed of the current in the river. From June 24 to July 2, the river was acceptable for swimming, by European standards, on six out of nine days, according to weekly reports published by Paris officials.
Still, in an effort to demonstrate to the world their confidence in the cleanliness and safety of the Seine, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and Paris 2024 organizing committee president Tony Estanguet, dove in for a few minutes on July 17, even dunking their heads underwater for a few freestyle strokes. “After the Games we will have a swimming pool in the river for all the people,” Hidalgo said after her dip.
Whether that happens still remains uncertain. The ultimate decision on whether to hold the marathon swimming and swimming portion of the triathlon in the river will be made by the respective sports’ governing bodies, depending on data gathered by Paris officials from the day before and morning of the scheduled events. According to Reuters, a meeting with the stakeholders—Paris officials, Paris 2024 Olympic authorities, the sport’s federation, regional authorities, and Meteo France (the country’s meteorological organizations)—will occur at 3:30 a.m. Paris time on each event day to make a final decision on whether the athletes will compete in the Seine.
That’s assuming, of course, that the lab testing for E.coli can be done quickly enough to provide reliable measurements, says Natalie Exum, assistant professor of environmental health and engineering at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “It takes about 24 hours to culture E. coli bacteria,” she says. “There may be some other proxy indicator for bacteria that they are using, but it’s not like you can stick something in the water and know how many E. coli are present in that instant.”
If the river continues to have fluctuating levels of pollutants, there are health risks athletes might face if officials decide the river is safe to swim in during the scheduled event. The most common organic contaminants—E. coli and enterococcus bacteria—are responsible for gastrointestinal illnesses, including diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting and nausea—not something anyone welcomes, not the least athletes who need to be in peak physical condition for competition. “There are certain pathogenic strains of E. coli that cause what we call traveler’s diarrhea,” says Dr. Susan Kline, professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Kline says anyone exposed to untreated water might expect risks similar to those that campers might face in rivers or lakes, which include parasites like giardia.
Then there are the possible chemical pollutants that come from runoff from industrial waste, which could pose serious health risks, as well as skin irritation. And having cuts or open wounds on the skin could also increase the risk of any infection from whatever is in the water, says Dr. Timothy Brewer, professor of medicine at epidemiology at University of California Los Angeles.
It’s not as if the sewage system in Paris and the river are intentionally connected. During heavy rain falls, the sewage flowing into water treatment plants gets mixed with overflow water from the rains, and the facilities’ normal treatment systems become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water that needs to be treated. Some of that untreated water then flows into the Seine, contaminating the river. “We call that first flush,” says Exum of the flood of water that gushes through wastewater treatment plants in the aftermath of a rainfall. “I would not advise anybody anywhere in the world to swim in a river 24 hours after a major flush,” she says. “The whole sewer system is designed to manage the low flow capacity of toilets, not gushing water. These systems are not designed for the intensity of rain events that we are now seeing as a result of climate change.”
Even with a heavy rain, ordinarily, a certain amount of sewage-derived bacteria could also be killed off by the ultraviolet rays of the sun, and higher temperatures. But a rainy and cloudy spring in Paris have left conditions ripe for the bacteria to thrive in the river. And the forecast for the first week of the Games is cloudy. Even with the overflow tank officials built to catch sewage during downpours, the river continues to host unsafe levels of bacteria.
The tank is an important, but not sufficient step to truly getting the Seine clean, says Exum. “To decouple the rainwater system from the sewer system all throughout Paris is what essentially needs to happen but that takes decades, and is an iterative process.” Cities like Paris that don’t host too many green spaces to soak up rainwater end up sending most of it into the sewer system underground, which just builds up the pollution in the river.
Organizers told Reuters that the Seine’s water will be tested twice daily as the Games approach, and that there is an alternative venue for marathon swimming at Vaires-sur-Marne, and a contingency plan to delay the triathlon or drop the swimming portion altogether if the river is deemed unsafe on competition days. But no official announcement has been made, and for now, the two Seine events are scheduled for the city’s river.
The uncertainty is adding additional stress to an already fraught situation for athletes, who would welcome some decision on where, and if, they will be competing, and reassurance that they will be safe while doing so. Team USA open water coach Ron Aitken told USA Today that the lack of a decision is “irresponsible.”
“I think that even if there is a 1% chance that the race isn’t going to be held because of cleanliness or lack of cleanliness, you need to have a backup plan,” Aitken said. “It’s the Olympics.”
The athletes selected to compete at the most elite level must be extremely regimented to get there. That includes paying close attention to nutrition. We asked eight Olympic athletes—including track-and-field, cycling, and volleyball stars—what they eat to fuel their bodies.
Helen Maroulis
Helen Maroulis, left, wrestles Jacarra Winchester in the Women’s Freestyle 57kg Championship Finals of the Olympic Wrestling Team Trials on Park, Pa. on April, 20, 2024.Gregory Fisher—Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
Helen Maroulis is the first U.S. female wrestler to qualify for three Summer Games—and, at 32, the oldest female wrestler to ever compete in an Olympics. Nutrition plays an important role in her success, she says, especially given that she has to make a certain weight (125 pounds) to compete in her class. She’s also had serious brain injuries following concussions she suffered on the mat, and has learned how important the right food choices are for brain health. “My three rules are I have to eat well, I have to sleep well, and training has to be good,” she says. “I don’t compromise on those.”
When Maroulis is in training, she aims to eat about 1,500 calories a day. She could easily eat salads and chocolate for every meal, so she has to be intentional about getting enough protein. For breakfast, she might have a four-egg omelet and some broccolini with ghee, garlic, salt, and pepper. She generally has two snacks a day: sliced apples and almond butter, or a keto sugar-free organic zucchini bread she makes with almond flour. (“It’s on the expensive side,” she says, “but it definitely brings the carbs down.”) If she hasn’t meal-prepped lunch and dinner, she’ll cook a steak and sweet potatoes, or have healthy spring rolls with shrimp. On super busy days, “I’ll just grab a handful of spinach and eat it plain with some eggs and chicken,” she says.
Hydration matters, too: Maroulis usually has a protein shake after a training session, and lately, she’s been craving what her coach calls “healthy Sprite.” She makes it with a SodaStream: “It’s just lemon and some organic fruit sweetener, and it tastes like Sprite,” she says.
Mitchell Saron
Mitchell Saron, left, and Park Sangwon compete during the team final at the Men’s Sabre World Cup in Budapest, Hungary, on March 24, 2024.Attila Volgyi—Xinhua/Getty Images
Fencer Mitchell Saron, 23, got “super into nutrition” last summer as a way to optimize his athletic performance. He and a handful of friends discovered an “animal-based” style of eating—similar to the keto diet—had blown up on TikTok, so they decided to start following it. They now send each other photos of their daily meals via a group chat that’s grown to include about 15 people.
Saron—who will compete in men’s saber in his first-ever Olympics—focuses on eating grass-fed meat (like beef, lamb, and venison), wild-caught fish, fermented veggies, organic fruit, raw honey and maple syrup, and pasture-raised eggs. He cooks his meals in raw and unsalted grass-fed butter, beef tallow, ghee, or virgin coconut oil. He doesn’t drink alcohol, instead adding salt-based, sugar-free electrolytes to his water. “The biggest change I’ve had is that I think about what my food is eating,” he says. “I don’t want to be eating food that’s at a farm, or in a warehouse, getting fed awful things.” He credits the shift with boosting his energy levels and clearing brain fog. “I just feel great all the time, and I can train longer and harder,” he says.
Your Guide to the Paris Olympics
Saron doesn’t count calories, but he does keep an eye on protein, aiming for 160 to 180 grams a day. One of his favorite meals is grass-fed rib eye. “I get out a nice wooden cutting board—I like to cut it very pretty,” he says. He’ll dice up mango or kiwi, and have sauerkraut or another fermented veggie, like kimchi, on the side. For dessert, he enjoys grass-fed Greek yogurt, sometimes mixed with grass-fed collagen protein powder. Or he might pair 100% cacao powder with frozen blueberries and raspberries—a tasty dish topped with raw honey and coconut flakes.
Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss
Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth compete during the Beach Volleyball World Cup Women’s match on Oct. 11, 2023.Essene Hernandez— Eyepix Group/Future Publishing/Getty Images
Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss have been playing beach volleyball together since they were in college—and now, they’re headed to their first Summer Games. Though the Baton Rouge roommates have always taken nutrition seriously, they didn’t go all in until the pandemic hit in 2020, and they suddenly had time to dedicate to tracking their intake and figuring out what their bodies needed. The answer? Lots of protein, carbs, and proper hydration.
Kloth, 27, enjoys starting the day with an English muffin topped with eggs, avocado, and turkey or ham. Breakfast is her favorite meal of the day, so for lunch, she might make an open-face quesadilla with eggs, plus an apple she dips in lactose-free Greek yogurt. (She finds she feels best when she omits lactose.) She has a protein bar before practice if she feels like she needs more fuel, and when she gets home, she chops up Russet potatoes. “I cut them in slices, and then I put them in the oven, and they come out like potato chips,” she says. She’ll probably have another veggie, like roasted cauliflower, on the side, plus some protein. For dessert, she enlists her Ninja CREAMi. “It turns everything into a Dairy Queen frosty,” she says. “I put a protein shake in there”—she likes Core Power’s lactose-free chocolate—“and it turns into ice cream.”
Meanwhile, Nuss, 26, usually has a piece of toast, scrambled eggs, and salsa for breakfast. She also enjoys mixing an avocado with Good Culture 2% Cottage Cheese. For lunch, she’ll dig into a quesadilla with scrambled eggs, avocado, and fat-free cheddar cheese with turkey or ham, plus Greek yogurt mixed with PB2 powdered peanut butter. She enjoys meal-prepping dinners—she gets a lot of ideas from Stealth Health on Instagram—and often has queso chicken mac ‘n cheese made with cottage cheese. For dessert, she can’t resist a Gatsby Sea Salt Extra Dark Bar. “I’ll eat three little squares as a sweet treat, and it’s absolutely delicious,” she says.
Meghan Musnicki
Meghan Musnicki, right, competes with Alison Rusher, left, in the Women’s Pair during the second rowing World Cup regatta on Lake Varese in Varese, Italy on June 16, 2023.Mattia Ozbot—Getty Images
On any given day, rower Meghan Musnicki spends four to six hours on the water or lifting weights in the gym. “Nutrition, and energy in general, is hugely important for our performance,” the four-time Olympian says. “Our bodies are our main tool, so it’s very important for us to make sure we’re giving it what it needs. You wouldn’t put diesel in your gasoline engine and expect it to work.”
Musnicki, 41, doesn’t count calories, but she’s had tests done to measure her resting metabolic rate—which is how many calories she’d need to maintain her weight if she didn’t expend any energy. That number is around 2,000. Once she factors in how much she burns while working out, a dietitian calculated that she has to consume between 3,500 and 4,500 calories per day to maintain her weight.
Most of the time, Musnicki prioritizes nutrient-dense, low-processed foods, like lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and carbs. Though carbs sometimes get a bad rap, they’re a “huge energy source” for endurance athletes, she points out. She also loves chocolate, and when she’s in an intense training cycle, she’ll sometimes reach for a high-calorie treat. “If I need to get in an extra 400 calories, ice cream is not out of the question.”
On training days, Musnicki leaves home at 6:15 a.m. and needs to make sure she has enough fuel to last for two hours. A typical breakfast is oatmeal with fruit, Greek yogurt, pistachios, and honey. “That covers all my bases in terms of carbs, proteins, fats—staying power,” she says. During practice, she’ll have an applesauce packet or a fruit snack for a hit of energy. Once she gets off the water, she has “second breakfast,” which is her favorite meal of the day. She usually opts for an egg sandwich, and perhaps some more yogurt. At lunch, she’ll have grilled chicken breast, vegetables, and rice, and once she heads to her afternoon training session, she’ll down another healthy snack on the water. For dinner, Musnicki enjoys entrees like chicken sausage and chicken breast—or a veggie pizza with red sauce made on her “bougie” wood-fired pizza oven.
Masai Russell
Masai Russell looks on after competing in the first round of the women’s 100 meter hurdles on Day Eight of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore. on June 28, 2024.Patrick Smith—Getty Images
First-time Olympian Masai Russell—who will compete in the 100M hurdles on the U.S.’s track and field team—describes eating well as the most important part of her training regimen. “You can put all the work in, you can get all the rest, but if your body doesn’t have the proper nutrition, it’s not going to be able to operate at its most optimal form,” she says. “I won’t be fueled to do what I need to do at the track if I’m not eating a lot.”
Russell, 24, who talks to a nutritionist every month, starts the day at 8 a.m. with carbs and protein, like two to three eggs, two pieces of bacon, a hash brown, and a green smoothie. That provides the energy dose she needs to feel prepared for the day—and for four hours at the track. Practice usually starts at 1 or 2 pm, and beforehand, Russell has a light lunch, like an acai bowl with fruit, granola, and honey. After practice, she chugs an Evolve plant-based protein shake to make sure she’s maintaining muscle. “I’ve learned that drinking protein shakes post-practice actually helps me to not feel as sore the next day,” she says. Dinner might be a Chipotle bowl or burrito with brown rice, black beans, chicken, corn, light sour cream, light tomato, and a little cheese. If she gets hungry again after that, she’ll have some fruit: “Something sweet, but not candy—something that’s more natural and fresh.”
Russell makes sure to stay hydrated throughout the day, but plain water doesn’t always cut it. Especially when it’s hot outside, she says, it’s essential to get enough electrolytes. “When I’m training, I like to go for a Gatorade for carbs and sugar,” she says. “I also do a sports packet of Pedialyte to keep my muscles hydrated and elastic.” That keeps her feeling healthy and ready to compete.
Josh Kerr
Josh Kerr take an early lead in the 800m during the Microplus UK Athletics Championships in Manchester, England, on June 30, 2024.MI News/NurPhoto/Getty Images
Taking control of his nutrition has helped Josh Kerr unlock “amazing results,” says the middle-distance runner, 26, who competes for Great Britain. He works closely with a nutritionist and chef who design a daily menu for him that prioritizes macronutrients. “It’s probably one of the biggest, last steps I’ve taken into being the athlete I am today,” he says.
Kerr aims for 110 to 140 daily grams of protein, 85 to 100 grams of fat, 350 to 400 grams of carbs pre-workout, and 200 to 300 grams of carbs when he’s recovering from a training session. He starts workout days with gluten-free pancakes, blueberries, raspberries, and plain Greek yogurt, paired with coffee and electrolyte tablets dunked in water. (Kerr is an ambassador for NOW Foods, which makes the tabs.) He undergoes regular sweat testing, which helps his team understand how much salt is in his sweat, and how many electrolytes he needs that day. Having some first thing in the morning is a great way to “kickstart the day,” he’s found.
At the start of warm-ups, Kerr might have three CLIF BLOKS Energy Chews—low-calorie cubes that provide a swift dose of energizing carbs. Post-training, when he needs to feed his muscles, he’ll have 25 grams of unflavored whey protein isolate powder mixed into water with 70 grams of electrolyte powder, and then for lunch, a chicken breast sandwich on sourdough bread, topped with half an avocado and two tablespoons of Primal Kitchen mayo. Later, he’ll snack on a beef stick and string cheese, and for dinner, he might dig into barbacoa tacos.
Chloé Dygert
Chloé Dygert competes during the 13rd Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields 2024, Women’s Elite a 171.2km one day race from Ieper to Wevelgem, Belgium on March 24, 2024.Luc Claessen—Getty Images
Cyclist Chloé Dygert might not know how many calories she eats every day—but she can tell you exactly what’s on Crumbl Cookies’ weekly menu. “Every Sunday, they put out their flavors for the week,” she says of the gourmet cookie chain. “I always go for the chocolate chip, but they’ve also had Everything Bagel. That was probably my favorite.”
Dygert, who’s doubling up during the Summer Games—she’ll compete in both track cycling and road cycling—jokes that her diet isn’t a great representation of what it takes to excel in the sport. Her friends often tease her: “How can you win, and you don’t eat right?” What she’s doing works for her, she tells them.
The 27-year-old cyclist usually has muesli for breakfast; she fills her bowl with almond milk and lets it soak, and then adds a honeycrisp or pink lady apple, plus a couple scoops of plain Chobani Greek yogurt. If she’s training, she’ll take along a few snacks, like a fig bar, energy gel (carbs in liquid form), or a cookie. Carbs are essential, she notes—she aims for 90 grams per hour of workout. For lunch, she might have a Mexican bowl; for dinner, she’ll wolf down a whole pizza (maybe DiGiorno’s stuffed-crust pie, smothered with cheese and sausage) or a burrito. As an evening snack, she’ll have another plain yogurt, this time paired with granola. The night before a tough workout, she often downs four cookies or 10 Starbucks cake pops. “The next day, I’m on fire,” she says with a laugh.
On race days, Dygert’s meals are scheduled by her team. “They say, ‘OK, the race starts at 1—you guys wake up, have a big breakfast, and then three hours before the race, you’re going to have another little breakfast, so you’re not hungry,’” she says. “Two or three hours beforehand is probably a good benchmark to give yourself enough time to let everything settle.” Afterwards, she guzzles a sugary drink, like a Fanta soda. She also makes it a point to have protein and carbs within 30 minutes to an hour to help her body recover and get a head start on fuel for the next day.
As Dygert heads to the Olympic Village, she’s looking forward to all the different types of food available to athletes: “They have all different cuisines, and a salad bar and fruit bar,” she says. But, as you may have guessed based on her favorite snacks, “What I feel the best on is definitely Mexican and Italian—pizza and rice bowls.” It very well might power her trip back to the podium at this year’s Games.
