Recently, a group of us athletes have been getting together for “kitchen coaching”. They’re cookery lessons run by another Sophie, Sophie Killer, a performance nutritionist with British Athletics. She divides us into groups of two or three athletes, cooking together. There’s four ovens and she gives us recipes, ingredients and help to cook. When we’ve finished cooking we sit down and try each team’s food and Killer reminds us why they’re healthy to eat and encourages us to take the recipe sheets home and continue making them. I still haven’t yet, but I’m sure I will do some time when I’m less busy training.
For the last two months, I’ve been having all my meals delivered, snacks included – Killer worked out the meal plan. The delivery van sometimes comes late in the evening, when I’m asleep, so Dad or Mum will stay up to receive all the polystyrene trays. Mum used to make all my meals until this happened, so it saves her time. Now she’ll put my evening meal in the microwave when Dad gets home and their own meals come out of the Aga, and I’ll eat with them in the orangery, chatting but with elbows strictly off the table. I still like my mother’s cooking. Sometimes I’ll sit there thinking, “I’ve got to follow the formula, but I wish I was having Mum’s spaghetti bolognese”, or “If only I could have a mouthful of what they’re having”.
If the van delivers late on Sundays, I’ll sometimes take the opportunity to have Mum’s Sunday roast instead. And maybe her homemade curry on Friday too. And I do like to have a dessert on top of what I’m prescribed. My favourite is the apple crumble my grandma brings round on Sundays. It’s my non-training day and I get to relax. I’ll only weigh myself two mornings a week but that’s one of them. My weight currently is 45kg but my coach wants me to be 47kg, with the two kilos more in muscle mass.
Some infants with cerebral palsy have too much or too little sensitivity around their mouths and are unable to suck, swallow or chew, but I don’t know if that was the case for me. My CP means now that my right side is a lot weaker than my left, I get a tight back and tight hamstrings, my balance isn’t the best and I sometimes struggle with my coordination. My right hip gets quite stiff sometimes, so I have physio and acupuncture to loosen it up. When it’s cold, it’s especially difficult for me and I need Mum’s hotpot or sun. I spent 12 days at a warm weather camp in Barcelona a while ago, which made me good-to-go, so at Rio I think the warmth will be great for my performance – my muscles won’t be too tight or my stride too short. After a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast I’m more relaxed on a starting line, in front of tens of thousands of people, than anywhere else in the world.
Sophie is world record holder at 100m T38. She also won gold at the 100m T38 at the 2015 IPC World Championships. Athletes benefit from National Lottery funded nutritional advice; thefoodchampions.org
Sophie’s world-beating paella
Benefit: recovery
Serves 6-8
onions 2 medium
garlic 2 cloves
carrots 2
red peppers 2
fresh parsley a small bunch
chicken thighs 4, skinned and boned
olive oil 1 tbsp
smoked paprika 1 heaped tsp
tomato puree 2 tbsp
chicken stock cube 1
paella rice 450g
boiling water 850ml
salt and pepper
frozen peas 100g
cooked and peeled prawns (frozen are fine) 200g
lemons 2, cut in wedges
Peel and chop the onion, garlic, carrots and peppers. Finely chop the parsley stalks. Roughly chop the chicken. Add the oil to a frying pan over medium heat and fry the garlic, onion, carrot and parsley stalks for a few minutes, then add the chicken and paprika and fry for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the chopped pepper and keep stirring for a few more minutes. Add the tomato puree and crumble in the stock cube. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes so it starts to absorb the flavours. Add the boiling water and a pinch of salt and pepper, put the lid on and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat, and simmer, with the lid off, for 15 minutes. Stir regularly, adding a splash more water as required. Stir in the peas and prawns, replace the lid then cook for 5 more minutes. Serve with lemon wedges and chopped parsley leaves.
Recipes created by The Food Champions, a collaboration between the National Lottery and sports nutritionists from the English Institute of Sport
