Olympic Athletes & Their Food: 10 Quirky Facts You Never Knew

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Michael Phelps's 12,000-calorie diet was...

a total myth. For years, people believed that 23-time gold medalist American swimmer Michael Phelps had an Olympic-size diet that added up to 12,000 calories a day. The New York Post had published the story in 2008, claiming Phelps sat down to 4,000 calories at each meal, feasting on eggs, pasta, sandwiches, pizza and more. Phelps later debunked that myth in an interview with a Men's Health social editor in 2017, saying, "There's so many stories that are written about that. One random paper picked it up over in London and made this fabricated lie. Twelve thousand is not real. It's impossible. You can't eat that much." Instead, he said the number was closer to about 8,000-10,000 in his prime. Uh, still!