NUTRITION
By Mark Etheridge
Ever wondered what South Africa’ s leading athletes choose to snack on and rehydrate with in their battle to be the best? Here’ s your answer …
NADINE DE KLERK
( Proteas cricket all-rounder and key player for the 2026 Indian Women’ s Premier League champions, Royal Challengers Bengaluru)
“ I guess on game day one of my favourite snacks before we field or between innings is toast with peanut butter and honey. Breakfast is normally a cheese-and-onion omelette. We also get these little jelly sweets from Woolies which are great during the game. And biltong is always another option – lots of protein and it keeps you full. For drinks( especially during games) I look to put SIS( Science in Sport) electrolyte tablets in my drinks and then after the game, my go-to drink will normally be a Coke Zero or Diet Coke or Pepsi Zero.”
TIMOTHY MEUWSEN
( South African judo champion-81 and-90kg division and 2026 Commonwealth Games hopeful)
“ When I’ m training there’ s nothing more that I love than some fatty biltong, especially near the end of the month when I’ ve got some money! And then to drink, I really love aloe water, but it definitely has to be the chunky version. Other days I also enjoy the soft gums( not the wine gums, they’ re too hard) which leave a nice taste in the mouth during training. Pretzels are also a good choice for some variety.”
JAMIE RIDDLE
( 2024 Olympian, African triathlon champion and SA’ s top Ironman athlete)
“ Definitely not the healthiest snacks, but as an athlete who is training three to six hours a day, carbs are king, sugar is king, calories are king! So there’ s no such thing as a diet. It’ s important to eat proper stuff like grass-fed beef and stuff out of the ground, but I usually snack on things like Tinkies sponge cakes and Mister Sweet jelly hearts during training and then drink-wise, I really like Mountain Dew soda and a Steri Stumpie milkshake as my go-tos.”
KABELO MATSUNYANE
( Professional jockey who rode Winchester Mansion to victory in the 2023 Durban July)
“ On a busy day at races it’ s Rehidrat mixed with water and Slo-Mag just so the muscles don’ t get tied up and get fatigued, especially on hot days, and then to get the energy levels up, I’ ll have a Red Bull or there’ s a sachet of Vita-A mixed with water to keep things going. When it comes to snacking, I’ m not much of an eater on race day but it’ ll either be fruits, cashew nuts or an energy / protein bar. I don’ t eat a full meal on a race day. On a training day I’ ll start with a coffee or a Red Bull just to have energy for the day.”
PHETHISANG MAKHETHE
( SA hammer-throw champion who recently established a new SA indoor record)
“ My pre-meeting meal is whatever the hotel offers, but an hour before competition I like to have an iced chai latte with full cream milk or a toasted avocado sandwich as a snack. I also have a banana at hand for between throws. We also have nice apple puree sachets. After meetings I’ ll celebrate with a piece of carrot cake as a snack, especially if I’ ve done well.”
* Check out pg 43 for Olympic silver medallist and trained dietician Jo-Ané du Plessis’ s top tips for healthy eating …
www. modernathlete. co. za 17