At the heart of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games’ experience is the food, which, for high-performance athletes, is not only a way of discovering the rich Italian cuisine but also provides fuel for the competition.
Every day, more than 10,000 meals are prepared across the different villages and facilities.
According to the organisation of the games, in the Milan Olympic Village alone, the kitchens serve around 3,000 eggs and approximately 450 kilograms of pasta daily.
In the 24-hour canteens, athletes can find balanced meals to help fight jet lag and help with training, high-protein diets for cross-country skiiers, lighter ones for bobsleighers, and options for vegans, celiacs, and religious traditions, according to the Italian Minstry for Infrastructure and Transport.
“Food as energy, but also as a universal language and a tool for inclusion: in villages like the one in Cortina, everything revolves around one principle,” reads a press release from the Ministry.
“Those arriving from the other side of the world will be able to eat as if they were at home, without compromising their preparation or recovery,” it added.
Routine is vital
Nutrition is key for professional athletes, even more so during intense periods of activity such as competing in the Olympic Games.
“People don’t realise how much their body needs,” Olivia Morgan, dietitian and sports nutrition expert at Mass General Brigham in Boston, told Euronews Health.
She stressed that the core to athlete nutrition is to make sure the energy intake matches the demands of their performance, especially during intense periods.
Morgan, who has experience working with Olympic athletes, noted the importance of making sure that nutrition still fits amid the travel, the new environment, the change in routine, and heightened emotions.
“Making sure, as always, that we’re hitting our intervals throughout the day and keeping to things that we know we enjoy and that work really well for our body and enjoying the really fun things afterwards,” she added.
Special characteristics of winter sports
These days in Italy, we can witness sports from nordic skiing, to figure skating and biathlon. Winter sports have their own specificities and demands, which is the same as when it comes to food.
“If we’re looking at more of the Nordic sports, the demands of the training, a lot of times, exceed potentially competition times”, Kelly Drager, lead performance dietitian at the Canada Sport Institute Alberta, working with the country’s Olympic athletes, told Euronews Health.
She added that winter athletes often train voluminously and have very intense periods during the summer months as preparation.
Even with the special circumstances under which winter athletes compete, Drager said, things are changing and weather, even in winter is less and less extreme.
Another aspect to consider for winter athletes is that they are usually travelling and competing during the peak of respiratory viruses such as influenza.
Carbs, carbs, carbs
Italy is world-renowned for its pasta and pizza, which, during the games, may be athletes’ closest allies.
“I think protein has been a major focus in society right now, but really, for athletes, carbohydrates are kind of the king,” Morgan said.
According to her, many have the misconception that protein is more important for athletes than carbohydrates, and emphasise it more in their diet.
“What happens is we just get a ton of protein and not enough carbs, we’re not really able to utilize all of that protein for its designated purpose”, she added.
Italian style is at the heart of the menus, the organisers have said, with pasta and pizza at the center of the carbohydrate stations.
Together with local cold cuts, cheeses, fruits, and desserts, they aim to give the athletes an “authentic taste of Italy.”
The importance of “boring balance”
For Morgan, at the core of good nutrition are the basics: five pieces of fruit or vegetables a day, balanced meals, and the occasional cheeky treat – all while maintaining a regular schedule.
“We need to eat balanced meals consistently throughout the day, and it’s boring nutrition; nobody wants to listen to it. They want to follow a fancy diet. They want to take a fancy supplement. But the real roots of nutrition are in that boring balance,” Morgan added.
She explained that, especially for athletes, who demand so much from their bodies, even the smallest misses in these basics tend to have bigger consequences.
Yet, food is not only fuel, nutrition experts warn. There has to be enjoyment, satisfaction, and a good relationship with the body.
“The body is not just a machine and food is just not a means to an end”, Drager said, adding that at her work in Canada, individual preferences and cultural variances also play a key role in nutrition.