Besides England footballer Kieran Trippier’s pickle juice, what other quirky drinks do athletes consume?
The mere mention of pickle juice may trigger the gag reflexes of some, who wonder why anyone would consume such a devilish concoction.
But in the world of high-performance sports, some professional athletes have turned to unorthodox methods to gain even the smallest of competitive edges.
England defender Kieran Trippier is one of them, as he was spotted drinking pickle juice during the Three Lions’ 1-0 victory over Serbia at Euro 2024.
Instead of water and isotonic drinks, athletes consume beverages like pickle juice, mate tea and even non-alcoholic beer to maintain their peak physical condition.
Here are five of the most bizarre drinks.
1. Pickle juice
As England defender Kyle Walker alluded to, pickle juice is an antidote often used by tennis athletes and marathoners to stave away cramps.
Besides Trippier, American tennis player Frances Tiafoe also chose the same replenishment at the 2019 Australian Open. During his round of 16 match against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, he was spotted taking swigs out of a jar of pickles.
Tiafoe said: “I was downing pickle juice, having that like Kool-Aid, just trying to get that done. I’m talking straight up: just downing it. It tasted terrible. I’m feeling terrible right now, man.”
He eventually prevailed in a four-set match lasting three hours and 39 minutes.
Sheffield Hallam University senior lecturer Dr Mayur Ranchordas, who specialises in sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, spoke about pickle juice’s effectiveness in an interview with British media outlet BBC.
He said: “How it really works is that it triggers a reflex in the mouth which sends a signal to stop muscles from cramping. That’s why it is drunk at the onset of cramps. It stops cramping 40 per cent faster than drinking water.”
2. Mate tea
Famously known as Pope Francis’ favourite beverage, mate is a traditional South American caffeine-rich bitter herbal drink that originated from the Guarani people, or in present-day Paraguay.
Mate, made with dried and choped yerba mate leaves, is served in a container made from a calabash gourd and consumed with a metal straw.
Argentina’s World Cup winner Lionel Messi is one of many South American footballers, like Luis Suarez, Neymar and Sergio Aguero, who regularly drink mate.
Similar to tea or coffee, mate is a stimulant and is believed to increase concentration and induce better sleep due to the antioxidants in the drink.
3. Maple syrup
When it comes to maple syrup, most people would think of it as a sweet treat or an accompanying condiment for pancakes.
For Canadian triathlete Lionel Sanders, who races in the Ironman World Championship, it is a natural and concentrated source of carbohydrates to fuel his body for each race.
In a video interview with triathlete.com, Sanders said: “It’s got a pretty good sugar profile for absorption and I just love it, it tastes delicious. Then I just tried to experiment with it and I started to say could I actually do a full Ironman using maple syrup?
“I’ve consumed about 900ml, almost an entire jug, over the course of the race. What’s funny is the next morning I still feel like waffles with maple syrup. So that’s how you know you’re on to something good.”
4. Non-alcoholic beer
The Germans’ love for beer is well-documented, but some of their athletes have taken it one step further to use non-alcoholic beer as a post-recovery drink.
During the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, German brewery Krombacher supplied 3,500 litres of non-alcoholic beer to the athletes’ village in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
According to the New York Times, Germany’s Olympic ski team doctor Johannes Scherr said all of his athletes drink non-alcoholic beer during training.
A study during the 2009 Munich Marathon found that runners who consumed the beverage daily suffered significantly less inflammation and fewer upper respiratory infections after the race.
5. Milk
Seven-time Olympic gold medallist Katie Ledecky is one of the most decorated swimmers of all time. The 27-year-old American went viral during the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games when she posted a video of herself swimming across a pool with a glass of chocolate milk balanced on her head.
After every race or workout, Ledecky downs a healthy serving of protein-rich chocolate milk to help repair her aching muscles.
Another American Olympic athlete, track star Elle Purrier St. Pierre, grew up on a farm fueled by dairy products. The daughter of a farmer in Vermont, she grew up drinking fresh milk from the cows on her family farm.
In 2024, Purrier won a gold medal in the 3,000m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
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