With 2012 London Olympics approaching, the 396 athletes of the Chinese Olympic team are in the spotlight. Many people have paid particular attention to the menu of the athletes, especially Chinese star hurdler, Liu Xiang.

At his training base in Xinzhuang, in southwest Shanghai, Liu Xiang has his own "champion canteen". For athletes, what and how to eat actually is not a simple nutrition issue, because eating out could cause an accidental intake of illegal drugs contained in the food, which could lead to doping accusations during the games.

Special chefs have been put in charge of Liu Xiang's diet. Besides considering Liu Xiang's personal tastes and eating habits, the chefs must ensure foods offered to him are safe and healthy.

According to the regulations of the Shanghai Sports Bureau, meat offered to athletes must first be sent to Beijing for testing. Everyone at the bureau takes food safety as the top priority.

In the cafeteria at Liu's training base, the hurdler has his own dining table. Generally, once he arrives at the cafeteria, the chef will prepare five to six dishes for him, which generally arrive five minutes later. Staff on duty inform the chef to prep for Liu's meals in advance.

One day in the middle of June, the outside air temperature was 33 degrees. Liu Xiang came to the cafeteria in a sweat at 11:30 a.m. after his training program. Once he took his seat after washing his face, one dish had already been served. One chef, who was preparing fried beef steak for other athletes, immediately stopped his work and started to cook a different steak in another pan, once he heard that Liu Xiang was coming.

The chef said all the beef prepared for Liu is imported from overseas. Before being cooked, the meat is sent to Beijing where it is inspected for safety and quality.

According to chefs at the training base, the milk Liu Xiang drinks was finally chosen after he evaluated dozens of imported and domestic milk brands, amounting to thousands of individual tastings.

Liu also eats seafood and organic vegetables, he said, but he doesn't eat pork, as the fat content is too high. In order to win the men's 110 m hurdle competition, he needs to reduce his body fat as much as possible to allow all muscles to play a good role to the greatest extent.

"Liu Xiang is always polite to all of the staff in cafeteria," his chef said emotionally, "He eats all of foods that I prepare, without any complaints or any special offers. He is worthy of being called a 'star athlete'."

(China.org.cn by Ma Yujia July 23, 2012)

随着2012年伦敦奥运会逐渐临近，中国奥运代表团里的396名运动员成为了各方瞩目的焦点。运动员们的食谱是怎样的，特别是“飞人”刘翔会吃些什么，让很多人十分好奇。

在位于上海西南部的莘庄训练基地里，刘翔在基地食堂拥有一个单独的“冠军灶”。因为外出就餐可能造成兴奋剂误服，导致比赛中药检不合格，所以运动员吃什么、怎么吃已经不单纯是一个普通营养学问题了。

刘翔的饭菜由专门的厨师负责。除了考虑到口味和饮食习惯，厨师更要保证刘翔在饮食环节安全、健康，避免吃到不放心的食物。

根据上海市体育局的相关规定，目前上海所有优秀运动员食用的肉禽产品，都要送到北京经过检测后方能下厨。体育局将食品健康问题当做最重要的工作来抓。

在训练基地的食堂里，刘翔拥有自己的专座。一般情况下，每顿饭厨师会为他专门准备五六个菜品；当刘翔来到餐厅落座后，厨师会在五分钟内为他端上热气腾腾的饭菜。刘翔如果要回基地就餐，会有专人提前通知食堂，厨师立即投入准备。

六月中旬的一天，气温达到了33℃。中午11点30分左右，刘翔从训练场直接来到餐厅。他进来后打开水龙头洗了一把汗津津的脸，然后坐到自己的位子上。此刻，厨师已经出锅了一盘蔬菜，端到刘翔面前。正在为其他运动员煎牛排的另一名厨师听说刘翔来了，立刻停下手头还没有煎熟的牛排，换上另一口锅，然后往锅里放上一片与前一锅形状不一样的牛排，翻煎起来。

厨师说，这是供刘翔吃的进口牛肉，每批都要送到北京检测，确认安全合格后方能下厨。

训练基地的厨师说，刘翔喝的牛奶也是餐厅专门为他选购的。刘翔经过无数次试喝之后，从国内外几十种品牌中选出了其中的一种。

除此之外，刘翔还吃海产品和有机蔬菜，但他不吃猪肉。厨师介绍说，猪肉的脂肪含量太高。为了在男子110米栏比赛中获胜，刘翔要尽可能地减少无用的脂肪负担，让全身的肌肉最大程度地发挥作用。

厨师向记者感叹说，刘翔对食堂工作人员一贯很客气，厨师做什么他就吃什么，从不挑剔抱怨，是一位实至名归的体育明星。