Italian tradition, athletes’ nutrition: pre-game food fuelling competitors in Torino

Italy. The first thing that comes to mind for many people when they hear about this Mediterranean country is food.

Italian cuisine has been ranked among the world’s best since the beginning ot time. For the most part, it is also very simple, let that be either pizza or pasta. The latter makes up a large part of athletes’ diets as well. 

So as this year’s FISU World University Games Winter take place in Torino, it is only fair to respect this national tradition and look at what some of the student-athletes eat before their competitions to perform at their best.

Most events in and around the capital of Piemonte start on Tuesday 14 January, the day after the opening ceremony, however this is not the case for ice hockey and curling as these two sports are already in full swing.

One banana and good to go

Let’s start right at home. Curlers Stefano Gilli and Francesco Vigliani, who are both from Pinerolo, just a half hour drive away from Torino, said their favourite food is “obviously pizza”.

However, their pre-game choice differs quite drastically. As Gilli jokingly put it: “One banana is for sure more than enough to make me happy and perform during the whole game.” The economics student at University Pegaso added that he mostly doesn’t eat before a match, as milk and biscuits for breakfast do just fine.

On the other hand, Vigliani, a student of business and operations at the University of Torino, who also happens to be one of the ambassadors for the Games, normally eats protein bars before the first stone is thrown. “As long as it’s something that gives me energy to perform. If we have an early game, I have cereal and yogurt in the morning.”  

A margherita pizza for Margherita

The Games will also be a home race for 21-year-old alpine skier Margherita Cecere, who was born and lives in Torino and studies mathematics for engineering at the Politecnico di Torino. To no surprise at all, her favourite food is also pizza. And of course, the margherita variety, just like her name. “Our competitions are in the morning, so breakfast is important. I mostly eat yogurt with cereal,” she said. And if she is nervous, then chocolate calms her down.

Back to curling, which is taking place at the Pala Tazzoli, and where American Teagan Thurston cheers on her brother, who is competing in the mixed doubles event.

The business management student from Minnesota State University, who will herself compete with the American women’s four-people team later this week, says she doesn’t have a core meal before a match. As long as it is something not greasy or heavy. 

“Because of the sweeping you get that heavy feeling. I try to get in plenty of fruits and vegetables and always eat two hours before the game. Just making sure I am hitting all the food groups, so I often eat sandwiches with fruits and vegetables on the side, while also drinking enough water,” she explained.

Her British counterpart in the sport, Robyn Munro, who is in her final year of studying politics and international relations at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, originally comes from a little town on the west coast of Scotland called Stranraer.

She says she sometimes gets accused of having an Irish accent, since her closest McDonald’s is in Ireland although she lives in mainland Scotland.

“Since coming back from holiday in Italy in the past, pizza and pasta back home were never the same,” she whined about British cuisine. “I am gluten-free and pizza or pasta at home since then is just a disappointment.”

Her favourite food is ice cream, which is another thing Italians are good at making, according to Munro. Her go-to meal before competitions on the other hand are pancakes, eggs and bacon. Quite British!

No time to lunch for the Czech hockey players 

Even though all athletes’ diets follow a similar path, not all of them are exactly alike. However, if you happen to be a Czech hockey player, you are faced with a different problem. Anna Kotounova explained that she can’t even have lunch at home on game days. 

The 23-year-old student of military technologies at the University of Defence, whose favourite Italian dish is spaghetti carbonara, said matches in her country normally take place during lunch time.

“That is why, I am used to not eating anything at all. The important thing is breakfast, which for me is often baked rolls with ham and cheese along with some tea,” the captain of the Czech’s women team stated following a 6-3 group stage victory over the USA on Sunday 12 January. 

The take place from 13-23 January. Watch all the competitions live on . Click on the link to find the full schedule.

Written by Nejc Molan, FISU Young Reporter, Slovenia

The Young Reporters Programme exemplifies FISU’s commitment to more than sports competitions. At every FISU World University Games, a group of talented aspiring sports journalists are chosen to cover the competition.

We warmly thank FISU Official Partner Qiaodan Ltd. which provides remarkable uniforms to FISU Family and International Technical Officials since 2015. Qiaodan is a valuable partner for FISU as it continued to provide its support during the postponement of events due to the global pandemic, and recently extended the relationship with FISU up to and including 2025.