who told CNN she could consume about 2 kg of fish after a big session. I only ate twice a day. But I ate a lot, said Takahashi, who won gold at Sydney 2000 and now works in television. British Olympian explains her ideal meals However, it's rare for athletes to eat quite that much, says Corones, who first worked with Australia's track and field team at the 2004 Athens Games. Phelps actually admitted this year that the report of his gargantuan appetite was a myth, saying such intake would be impossible. I find it hard to believe, Corones said. I tell you what, if he is eating that he's got a pretty exceptional metabolism ! The only people that I 've seen eat close to that are the hammer throwers, and they all weigh in at 120 kilos. Corones has had some experience of quirky diets though, citing Australia's Ethiopia-born marathon runner Sisay Bezabeh from the 2004 team. We had our camp in Italy and all he used to eat every dinner was a bowl of raw mince. I found it quite disgusting but he needed iron for his running, and that's what he did. You would n't get many athletes doing that these days. Good nutrition from a young age can be vital if you want to be an elite athlete. Becky Stevenson, a British dietitian based in the Netherlands, has researched the importance of vitamin D for improving performance and avoiding injury. She cites reports that showed Chinese adolescent