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The aim of the Hungarian sports administration is to provide the possibility of individualized meals in all Hungarian Olympic centers, in order to help athletes prepare and compete more effectively, said Ádám Schmidt, Minister of State for Sport of the Ministry of Defense, in Tata.
The details of the comprehensive dietary reform were presented by Ádám Schmidt and Balázs Baji, Head of the Hercules Program. “In sports management, we regularly emphasize the importance of sports science, including, of course, nutrition science.
By involving the specialists of the Hercules Program, we want to place greater emphasis on the individual preparation of elite athletes and, in turn, on the implementation of individual nutrition plans.
The needs of a wrestler, for example, are different from those of a gymnast, a heavyweight athlete, or a swimmer, and it makes no difference whether we are talking about a training period or a competition period,” stressed Schmidt. He added that the aim is to have sport-specific meals available in all Olympic centers by 2028.
In practice, athletes will have individual profiles and will be able to scan their own QR code at the entrance to the restaurants, which will be used by the kitchen to serve them individual meals in the future. Here, they will not only be able to separate training and competition periods, but also take into account the specific needs of each sport, whether aesthetic or weight class.
Balázs Baji (L), Ádám Schmidt (R); Photo: MTI/Bruzák Noémi
“The Hercules Program’s dietetic services have also played a key role in 2024, in preparing athletes and supporting their performance, under the guidance of dietitian Éva Kőrösi, and we now want to extend this service to catering at Olympic centers.
Last year, we already provided training in 17 sports, with at least 55 presentations, but we plan to attend and give presentations to athletes, coaches, and parents in all 31 sports covered by the program.
Some of the training materials are already available in the restaurants of the Olympic training camps. So far, we have provided 48 athletes with individual dietetic care, giving them personalized support to achieve their nutritional goals,” said Baji.
In the future, a central recipe database will be created with menus, so that not only the allergenic information will be displayed next to the name of the food, but also the nutritional content and energy value per 100 grams. In addition, posters will be displayed in canteens to help athletes choose what and how much to eat at each meal, based on their goals.
As part of the program, experts have also assessed the functioning, equipment, and consumption of raw materials in the kitchens of the Olympic training camps, which has led to a four-year transformation plan to make catering more sport-specific. Training will be provided for kitchen staff and the IT systems in the kitchens of the Olympic centers will be upgraded, which will form the basis for future customized catering options.
Via MTI; Featured picture: Pexels