German Olympic athletes drink beer to boost performance

By Kim Hyun-bin

Many athletes sip on Gatorade and other sports drinks after exercise to quench their thirst, but German Olympians athletes prefer beer to rehydrate.

Non-alcoholic beers have been supplied to German athletes in PyeongChang to boost performance and speed up recovery.

The German brewery Krombacher has supplied 3,500 liters to the athletes’ village for the German national team to consume.

Alpine skier Linus Strasser is one of the few who likes a cold brew after a good workout.

"It tastes good and it's good for the body," he said. "Alcohol-free wheat beer is extremely healthy. It's isotonic. That's why it's good for us sports guys."

Johannes Scherr, a doctor for the German Olympic ski team says a majority of his athletes drinks non-alcoholic beer after training.

A study conducted by marathon runners in Munich in 2009 found non-alcoholic beer reduced inflammation and respiratory infections aiding athletes to recover quicker and train harder, said Scherr, who was part of the study.

German breweries often market the brew as an alternative to sugary sports drinks, Scherr added.

The German Brewers Association concurred and added that it’s really healthy and is not exaggerated for marketing purposes.

"It's a really good drink directly after training or after competition," the association said.

Germany is currently ranked 2nd in the medal standing in PyeongChang with 23 medals including 11 gold, so it clearly doesn’t seem to bring any harm to their Olympic performance.

Krombacher have also shipped 11,000 liters of regular beer here.