Lessons Learned at the Tokyo Olympics – Part 2
The Summer Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, which were postponed in 2020, were successfully held in 2021. The International Communication Committee of the Japan Sports Nutrition Association interviewed four sports dietitians who provided nutritional support for four sports during the Olympic Games and shared their experiences.
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Badminton
Nagisa Inoue
High Performance Support Project
Japan Institute of Sports Science
Japan High Performance Sports Center
As a member of the nutritional staff of the High Performance Support Project, a project commissioned by the Japan Sports Agency, I was engaged in support activities for the Japanese badminton national team. The team’s challenges can be summarised in two main areas: “conditioning during tournaments” and “conditioning throughout the year”. In 2013, the support was limited to gathering information on the issues to be addressed and discussing measures and evaluation indices for improving the issues. However, from 2014, the support has become more practical. We have been conducting an actual condition survey on 8 topics using objective data: hydration during matches and management of dietary intake and body composition in relation to “conditioning during the tournaments”, maintenance and improvement of body composition, nutritional status of iron and vitamin D, maintenance and improvement of bone health, and dietary management in relation to “conditioning throughout the year”. As nutritional support for the Japanese national badminton team, we are conducting an ongoing approach to a range of issues related to players and teams.
Nutrition support activities before and during the Olympics
Regarding “conditioning throughout the year”, one of the challenges of conditioning, the high-level international tournaments for badminton are held in various parts of the world throughout the year, and the Japanese national team also plans to participate in these competitions. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, overseas trips often consisted of two consecutive competitions, i.e., in two consecutive weeks, and this was the case almost all year round. However, due to the spread of COVID-19, this has been reduced to zero and the opportunity to accompany the team no longer exists. The fact that I have much less opportunity to interact with the players due to the reduction in tournaments and national team training camps has made it even more important for me to be able to help the players take initiative in selecting appropriate food choices and organising meals themselves.
This was the first time in 57 years that the Games were held in your own country. Were there any advantages, disadvantages, or other impacts on your support activities?
The support system for the High Performance Support Project has been enhanced. It broadens the scope of nutritional support, including collaboration with other disciplines, and provides more opportunities to travel to the actual site. The opportunity to travel to international tournaments and training camps has allowed us to collect data and identify new challenges.
New lessons or experiences gained from this competition
Through my experience, I believe that nutritional support for elite athletes is about assessing their conditioning issues using objective data and making nutritional improvements. To achieve this, evidence-based support for individual athletes must be developed, keeping an eye on the latest developments and methods in sports nutrition and related fields. The most important thing is to build a trusting relationship with the athletes, the sports medicine and sports science specialists, and those from other fields, such as staff of sports teams involved with the athletes, and to work together to provide support to change athletes’ attitudes and behaviours.
Table Tennis
Naomi Iino
Japan Table Tennis Association
I supported the national team for the table tennis event.
COVID-19 made it difficult to provide in-person support, so I used the app Atleta aimed at athletes to provide information and other services.
Nutrition support activities before and or during the Olympics
I did not conduct specific activities during the competition. I think it was an advantage to go to the Olympics in a familiar environment.
During the preparation period, three main activities were carried out for the national team:
- I accompanied the athletes to the 2018 and 2019 World Championships and the 2019 Asian Championships and provided support for diet and food supplements. I provided advice on conditioning, preparation of food supplements, and diet during the competition (The 2020 World Championships were cancelled).
- I worked with strength and conditioning coaches in April 2020 when there was a self-restraint period due to COVID-19, and provided information on diet and nutrition using an app. The content of the information was based on the needs of the staff and players, and this continued until July 2021, including “meals to boost immunity” and “tips for eating out”. Information brochures were posted at the training camp for the players to review.
- Table tennis is a sport that requires a lot of international travel. Normally, we would travel abroad nearly 10 times a year. However, due to COVID-19, we have had to strengthen the team within Japan. I delivered advice on how to eat according to the period indicated through the app as well as the training plan developed by strength and conditioning coaches.
I would also like to introduce the development projects of the Japan Table Tennis Association, which we have been working on for over 20 years. In addition to technical training, we have been working with a variety of other areas such as nutrition, mental health, coaching, and media relations. I would like to introduce this article “Educate and Engage: Japan’s 20-year Path to Striking Gold On and Off the Table” that was recently featured in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
In the field of nutrition, we have established a network of dietitians from across the country and correspond to training events for junior athletes and instructors that held throughout the country. In addition, we have also been involved in extraction of challenges on dietary patterns and lifestyles for junior table tennis players as well as development of nutrition education etc. I think these development projects were also major factors that might have contributed the competition.
This was the first time in 57 years that the Games were held in your own country. Were there any advantages, disadvantages, or other impacts on your support activities?
Although the event was held in our country, I was unable to provide direct support due to COVID-19. I think it was a great advantage for the athletes to have the training camp in a familiar environment and to be able to go to the competition without having to travel and deal with jet lag.
New lessons or experiences gained from this competition
I think it was good that we were able to use online tools and provide support that will help in the future.
