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What it takes: How U.S. Olympians train [1]

['Lauren Monsen']

Date: 2024-07-19 04:03:00+00:00

Winning Olympic gold takes more than raw talent. With tremendous drive, top athletes stick to rigorous training routines to develop skill in their sport, while building strength and endurance. Regimens often include healthy nutrition and attention to sleep habits.

Below are four 2024 U.S. Olympians and the training regimens that will help them compete with the world’s best in Paris.

Katie Ledecky’s seven Olympic gold medals and 21 World Championships make her a swimming legend. Based in Florida, Ledecky, 27, swims 10 times a week, two hours at a time, racing against other top swimmers, including men. To build strength and endurance, she hits the gym five times a week, lifting weights or training with bikes or heavy ropes and sleds.

Ledecky also cooks healthy meals. She told Women’s Health magazine she eats plenty of eggs and granola for protein and fiber, and enjoys chocolate milk for added calcium in her diet. She goes to bed early, rising at 5:30 a.m. for early morning swim practice.

Her preparations showed at the 2024 Olympic trials, where Ledecky won all her events. In Paris, she will be a favorite to add to her collection of Olympic medals.

Noah Lyles, 26, holds the title of fastest man on earth for a reason. The Florida-based sprinter focuses his in-season workouts on starts, acceleration and feeling comfortable at top speed, according to Men’s Health magazine. His off-season training centers on leg work, everything from squats and leg presses to single-leg Romanian deadlifts.

A chef plans Lyles’ customized low-fat, low-carbohydrate meals, including chicken, turkey and vegetables. The diet helps Lyles “recover faster and perform better” from races and workouts, the chef says.

“Eat well,” Lyles says on X. “You are trying to refuel your body with the best food. Lean meats, lots of protein and greens. NOT JUNK FOOD AND SWEETS.”

University of Michigan student and gymnast Fred Richard, 20, trains every day, but foregoes heavy lifting for a lighter regimen on Sundays, according to Essentially Sports. Taking a cue from his mentor, Team USA sprinter Lyles, Richard added sprinting to his workouts and says it helps him as a gymnast. Lyles “gave me motivation to improve my run and get way more power from my harder vault,” Richard says.

He follows a balanced, high-protein diet, and snacks on dried mangoes and acai bowls (a thick smoothie topped with fruit and granola).

Lee Kiefer, 30, who competed in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and became the first American fencer to win an individual Olympic gold medal, enjoys coffee before a big match. But before that, she dines on lean protein with rice and vegetables the night before, and consumes fruit, eggs and yogurt for breakfast. Her food philosophy of “everything in moderation” also allows for an occasional cookie or two.

The Kentucky-based medical student’s preseason regimen includes strength and conditioning training four times a week, as well as practices with her husband and fellow U.S. Olympic fencer Gerek Meinhardt, who will also compete in Paris.

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[1] Url: https://share.america.gov/what-it-takes-how-us-olympians-train/

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