Here's What Olympic Weight-Lifting Champs Really Eat
To paraphrase an old but reliably endearing trope, when Indian weight-lifting silver medalist, Mirabai Chanu, was asked what she would do now that she had powered herself and India onto the Olympic podium at this year's Tokyo 2020 Olympics by lifting a total of 202 kilograms (445 pounds via Calculate Me), her answer was not "I'm going to Disney World" as it might have been in yesteryear. Rather, after winning her medal, the 26-year old Olympian weight-lifter said she wanted nothing more than to chow down on some pizza and ice cream, according to India Today. In response, Dominos did what Dominos does best, which is to say, generating good will toward its brand across the globe. In this case, that meant offering Chanu free pizza for life through Dominos India.
"We are elated that we could share this wonderful moment with Chanu's loved ones," wrote Dominos India on Twitter. "She brought a smile to a billion+ faces, our Domino's Imphal Team brought a small token of appreciation to celebrate the success with her family." No word on who, if anyone, will gift the silver medalist with ice cream. But that's not really the point, now is it, fit foodies of the world? Isn't the real question, does Chanu actually eat that stuff? Well, get ready to learn the truth about what Olympic weight-lifting champs really eat.
Do Olympic weight-lifting champs really eat pizza?
After winning a silver medal in her weight category Chanu was heard saying all she wanted to do next was to scarf down some junk food (via Money Control). Then she actually went ahead and enjoyed herself some Dominos pizza. For those gawking at one of the fittest women in the world with a box of pizza on her lap, a slice in her hand, and a grin on her face and wondering how much of it was really just a PR stunt, the truth is that it depends upon whom you ask (via Twitter).
One reason that Chanu was so stoked for pizza is that when she's in-training, a strict diet is the only option, according to News 18, which would mean there would be no place for pizza, period. So, presumably, this particular Olympic weight-lifting champ can eat a bit of pizza in the off-season, but not so much during training. That being said, not all Olympic weight-lifters are in the 48 kilograms weight category (i.e. 105 pounds), which Money Control pointed out that "all the pizza that Chanu is deservedly enjoying after her silver medal in Tokyo, [Russian Olympic weight-lifter] Vasily Alekseyev would have gobbled up between two lifts." Of course, one mustn't ignore the fact that Alekseyev weighed 350 pounds at his peak (via Barbend).