Giorgio Calabrese, doctor specialized in Food Science, university professor and scientific advisor at the Ministry of Health: how he evaluates the strict diet followed by Gianmarco Tamberi for the Olympics Paris?
“Tamberi is a very good boy who went too far this time. At a certain point, super champions pull too hard and the body rebels. Tamberi lost too many kilos between the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and the Paris. He followed a diet that was more liquid than solid and this is counterproductive for his muscles: it’s like a Ferrari engine without the petrol to make it work. “
Was it the diet that caused the renal colic that killed Gimbo’s dream?
«90% yes. He followed a high-protein diet for muscles and rich in mineral salts, but this type of diet caused stones. And when they move through the ureter – which is full of nerve endings – they cause debilitating nausea and pain.”
What is the proper diet for an Olympic athlete to follow?
“He must guarantee the body a proper intake of complex carbohydrates rich in fiber. In the case of high jumping, which is an anaerobic sport, more proteins are needed, it is true, but if they are not compensated with the right carbohydrates, they become a problem for the muscles, which should not be kept there the pinch, but made mighty.”
Tamberi said that he also makes decisions about his diet independently: is this a mistake?
“When you eat in a way that’s not under medical control it’s never good. Tamberi is a decent and honest boy who made a mistake. Others could bomb themselves, but he just did something that doesn’t make clinical sense. I have been the official dietitian of Juventus for years and I collaborate with CONI: diet is like a suit that must be designed for the individual athlete. There are ad personam mechanisms. Tamberi thought losing weight was enough to jump higher, but that’s not true.”
You get the opposite effect by losing power.
“Exactly. Light weight does not mean you have to starve. That’s why I say carbohydrates are essential in an athlete’s diet: they give you the necessary energy. In the high jump especially: you do a few jumps and then there is the take-off. It is clear that the dynamics of this sport require powerful muscles that cannot be taken away. You need to be thin, don’t be hungry.”
What advice would you give Gimbo now?
“After negative events like this, we tend to go through a depression phase, so to speak. Here, I would like to remind Tamberi that he is and still is a great champion and that he must not give up.
He had said that this would be his last Olympics: is there room, from a physical point of view, to try his luck again in four years?
“Of course it is. Trust good experts who calibrate the right diet to strengthen your body as much as possible and get it back in shape. So he will return to be the great champion he is to win other World Cups, the Olympics and European Championships. It’s a national pride we can’t afford to lose.”
2024-08-11 23:30:02
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