Nutritional Strategies for Olympic Biathletes: A Practical Review

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11510%2F25%3A10505291" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11510/25:10505291 - isvavai.cz</a>

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=_y5eGxORwI" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=_y5eGxORwI</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu17213385" target="_blank" >10.3390/nu17213385</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Nutritional Strategies for Olympic Biathletes: A Practical Review

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Biathlon is a winter Olympic sport that combines high-intensity cross-country skiing with precise rifle shooting. These dual demands require athletes to develop exceptional aerobic capacity while maintaining fine motor accuracy under physiological stress. Despite its complexity, nutritional strategies in biathlon remain under-explored and recommendations are often extrapolated from related endurance sports. This narrative review aims to summarise existing knowledge on nutrition in biathlon, highlight sport-specific challenges and identify areas for future research. The main findings indicate that biathletes face very high energy demands, with daily expenditure exceeding 7000 kcal during intensive training. Carbohydrates are the primary fuel source, with intake recommendations based on training intensity and duration (6-12 g/kg/d). Furthermore, protein is essential for muscle repair, recovery and adaptation. To achieve the recommended intake of 1.6 g/kg/day, it is advisable to consume meals containing approximately 0.3 g/kg of high-quality protein every three to four hours. Given the frequency of training sessions, effective recovery strategies are important in biathlon. When recovery is a priority, biathletes should consume a meal comprising protein (approximately 0.3 g/kg) and carbohydrates (approximately 1.2 g/kg) before key training sessions. Micronutrient and vitamin deficiencies are not commonly observed in biathletes due to their high calorie intake. However, concerns regarding iron and vitamin D are common among endurance athletes due to the high risk of low energy intake, diets lacking in iron, and insufficient exposure to sunlight. On the day of the race, it is recommended that biathletes plan their meals to ensure that they meet their nutritional needs and begin recovery as soon as possible after the race is over. Biathletes may use specific supplements to enhance performance and health during preparation and competition. However, it is important to note that some supplements that improve performance may harm shooting accuracy. Current guidance is provisional, and future research should adopt a dual-performance framework that evaluates both endurance output and shooting precision under realistic competition conditions.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Nutritional Strategies for Olympic Biathletes: A Practical Review

Popis výsledku anglicky

Biathlon is a winter Olympic sport that combines high-intensity cross-country skiing with precise rifle shooting. These dual demands require athletes to develop exceptional aerobic capacity while maintaining fine motor accuracy under physiological stress. Despite its complexity, nutritional strategies in biathlon remain under-explored and recommendations are often extrapolated from related endurance sports. This narrative review aims to summarise existing knowledge on nutrition in biathlon, highlight sport-specific challenges and identify areas for future research. The main findings indicate that biathletes face very high energy demands, with daily expenditure exceeding 7000 kcal during intensive training. Carbohydrates are the primary fuel source, with intake recommendations based on training intensity and duration (6-12 g/kg/d). Furthermore, protein is essential for muscle repair, recovery and adaptation. To achieve the recommended intake of 1.6 g/kg/day, it is advisable to consume meals containing approximately 0.3 g/kg of high-quality protein every three to four hours. Given the frequency of training sessions, effective recovery strategies are important in biathlon. When recovery is a priority, biathletes should consume a meal comprising protein (approximately 0.3 g/kg) and carbohydrates (approximately 1.2 g/kg) before key training sessions. Micronutrient and vitamin deficiencies are not commonly observed in biathletes due to their high calorie intake. However, concerns regarding iron and vitamin D are common among endurance athletes due to the high risk of low energy intake, diets lacking in iron, and insufficient exposure to sunlight. On the day of the race, it is recommended that biathletes plan their meals to ensure that they meet their nutritional needs and begin recovery as soon as possible after the race is over. Biathletes may use specific supplements to enhance performance and health during preparation and competition. However, it is important to note that some supplements that improve performance may harm shooting accuracy. Current guidance is provisional, and future research should adopt a dual-performance framework that evaluates both endurance output and shooting precision under realistic competition conditions.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

—

OECD FORD obor

30306 - Sport and fitness sciences

Projekt

—

Návaznosti

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Rok uplatnění

2025

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Nutrients

ISSN

2072-6643

e-ISSN

2072-6643

Svazek periodika

17

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

21

Stát vydavatele periodika

CH - Švýcarská konfederace

Počet stran výsledku

21

Strana od-do

3385

Kód UT WoS článku

001612799000001

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

2-s2.0-105021598805