ATHLETICS.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11768, 15 October 1932, Page 10

ATHLETICS.

WHAT OLYMPIC ATHLETES ATE. POTATOES, PICKLES, AND ICEcream: To judge from accounts in newspapers, the public of the United States wins as interested in what the 2,000 athletes ate as in their performances in the games. Apparently the dietary system of the athletes in training at Los Angeles was revolutionary. Certainly it' was-opposed to the methods adopted by Australians when training for athletics in their own country. At Los Angeles the latldetes were permitted, to eat almost anything whie]r they liked. In. Australia this has been regarded as unwise, but if was justified in Los Angeles if the number of world’s records which were broken may be regarded as a. guide. J.b lias been tin*, custom of most Australian. athletes when preparing to take part in ( a. coldest to practise self-denial. They eschew potatoes, pickles, and pastry. To eat an icecream would lie regarded as riotous dissipation. Coffee and sweets arc anathema-. But consider the menus provided for the Australian team iat Los Angeles. Potatoes, pickles, and ice-cream were there in profusion. iMeals were a pleasure. There were many departures from orthodoxy. Flanagan, the United States swimmer, just before a heat of the 1,7,00 metres race, in which he defeated the Australian, Noel Ryan, among otjiors, ate a large steak “smothered in catsup.” In the lasi stages of their preparation the athletes bad to observe certain rules, not the least important of which was that they should oaf, food which was satisfying, strengthening, •and enjoyable. To ensure complete satisfaction the committee of the 10th Olympiad built a community village, where 2,000 athletes lived under the watchful eyes of their coaches. There were 10 dining halls to each of which was brought' the finest and most wholesome food. Milk and ice-cream were generally consumed but only the purest., milk and ice-oroam of the highest quality, containing the nutritive values of cream, eggs, and sugar. Milk was regarded as being of great value lo marathon runners, boxers. wrestlers. oarsmen, field games men, and polo players, because of its tissue building properties and its high proportion of the calcium so essential Hi tlie building of strong bone. Many Australian athletes will not. drink rnilk because they believe it 1" be fattening. but the young men in “Olympic (own” joyfully bile' filieir milk in the form of iee-c-roam, butler, and cheese, and drank great quantities of it. A popular custom in ilie village was for the representatives of one country to visit those of another for meals. AJanv .aihle'es as a consequence deserted the foods which they had been used to eating at. home when they found foreign dishes to be more palatable. The table menus bore such headings as "Breakfast with Germany.'’ “Luncheon with France", or "Tea withGEpllancl." so that if <a runner or swimmer did not approve of France’s luncheon he might- have it with Ins own people, or with the representatives of some other nation. One menu "Dinner with Holland” included cherry pie and rice. with vegetable pickles! One can almost bear exclamations of amazement from Australian athletes, who would not dream of eating anything which they believed would so affect their “wind”. But such food did not appear to handicap the Olympic athletes. According to the newspapers the Australians ate the most. am! the Swedes the least, at. Los Angeles. The Australians liked their Jiome dishes more than those of other nations. Pepper was banned from the tables of the Argentinians by request of the Argentine Amateur Athletic Association. The Japanese abandoned their national foods, except rice, and almost, lived on ham and eggs ami honeydew melons, lint while they were allowed to eat. almost -as they pleased the strictest limits were placed upon what they drank. Before the Japanese learn left for Los Angeles samples of the water of that city were sent to Japan, for analysis. Here is a typical menu. It is headed “Dinner whl) Great Britain : Consomme J ulionne. Toma I o Juice. Tomato. Cucumber Salad. Grilled Salmon. Parsley Butler. Baked Virginia Ham Raisin Sauce. Scalloped Potatoes. Fresh Spinach. Buttered Carrots. 33’aler Melon. ' Ice-cream. Choose. Tea, Drip, Coffee, A 1 ilk. Li “Breakfast with Germany" (here were strawberries and cream. “Luncheon with Franco” included “Sirloin Steak. Maitre l'Hot'el.” 3YJio would not bo an athlete in training? The chef who included corned beef and cabbage in .Ireland’s menu had a sense of the appropriate. 33 as he, perhaps, also entrusted with the. pteparation, of Italy’s dinner, which included roast veal, mashed potatoes, egg noodles, Zucchini, and Parmesan cheese? The representatives of different countries had their favorite dishes. The Italians, for instance, called for spaghetti Bolognese, a dish of onions, celery, carrots, butter, ground steak, sherry, tomato sauce, and spaghetti. 3Yith every manifestation of pleasure, the Mexicans devoured Arroz Con Pol, which contains rice, sining chicken, bacon, tomatoes, cinnamon, onions, garlic, cloves, soup, and pimentoes. The. Japanese smiled tlveir thanks when given Tori Umani, winch contain chicken, carrots, bamboo shoots, black mushrooms, fish sausage, 'chestnuts, pineapple, and sugar. The Japanese broke more records, in proportion to the size of their team, than, did the representativvos o'l any other country. The Australians and the Englishmen liked beef. The would journey through any menu from soup to nuts. The Indians ate very little meat, and specialised in omelets and green vegetables. There was a menu for on “international Dinner,” which read: —

Cream of Chicken Soup, with Rice. Tomato Juice. Roast .Prime Ribs of Beef. Cauliflower in Cream. Boiled Pens. Browned Potatoes. Assorted Pies, with Cheese. Milk. Drip Coffee, Tea. Tea, "drip coffee"-—peculiarly American—and milk were the staple beverages, lint grape juice and tomato juice wore, also greatly in demand, and were usually taken jtisi lie I ore, meals. Invariably the athletes lortified themselves for the work of the day by eating substantial breakfasts of fresh and stewed fruit's, cereals, bacon, eggs, bam, ehops, steak, and preserves. 3 cry lew asked lor white bread, which appears to have boon the one item of regular food against which I here was a prohibition.