If you were to guess what the most popular attraction within the walls of the athlete’s village was, it’s safe to say your first guess wouldn’t be McDonald’s. But, according to multiple reports, the world’s most elite athletes are more than willing to wait in long lines to get their hands on a Big Mac and fries.
READ MORE: 5 notorious Olympic athlete diets
And we aren’t talking about the usual lunch-hour rush at your local golden arches; according to The Washington Post, some athletes allege the line has stretched farther than a football field in length.
“We’re so pathetic,”Samoan freestyle swimmer Brandon Schuster told the Post. “It’s raining, and we’re waiting in line for McDonald’s.”
The report also claims that the fast food restaurant started limiting athletes to 20 menu items at a time. Why? The lines were getting too long.
We should point out that McDonald’s — the official restaurant of the Olympic games — feeds athletes and coaches for free inside the village. The fast food juggernaut is also the only other food option for athletes inside the complex, aside from the dining hall which has less than favourable reviews.
According to The Washington Post’s article, athletes have found the dining hall in the Olympic village confusing due to its size and the amount of signage in various languages.
“Normally, in the cafeteria, the food isn’t good,” said Cuban judoka Idaliz Ortiz. “In practically all the arenas, it’s the same. So the whole world always comes here for American food. That’s McDonald’s.”
The dining room for the athlete village is housed in tents that stretch bigger than two football fields. The kitchen pumps out some 60,000 meals per day to a wide variety of buffets, including Brazilian, Asian, International, Pasta and Pizza, Halal and Kosher choices.
READ MORE: How Michael Phelps’ diet changed in the past 8 years
“It’s very important that we respect and take into consideration the different cultural necessities of the athletes, in order for them to be able to feel at home and focus on their competitions,” said Rio’s food and beverage manager Flavia Albuquerque.
But this love for Chicken McNuggets and double cheeseburgers isn’t a new Olympic phenomenon. In fact, some Olympic champions have achieved great success on the podium while claiming to live off of the golden arches.
In 2008 during the Beijing Olympics, U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte told NBC he ate McDonald’s for “almost every meal” while at the games.
And decorated sprinter Usain Bolt claimed to eat 100 chicken McNuggets a day while in Beijing.
Australian badminton player Sawan Serasinghe must have had some help getting around the 20 item limit in Rio. On Saturday, the athlete shared a photo of his massive post-Olympic McDonald’s spread.
“Now it’s time to eat some junk food after months of eating clean,” he wrote. The picture features four packages of Chicken McNuggets, six various hamburgers, six boxes of fries and what appears to be at least six brownies.
“How did you wash this all down with just one bottle of water? That sounds like an Olympic feat,” pointed out one Facebook user.
– With a file from The Associated Press
Comments