COFFEE IN SPORTS—WHAT CAN’T IT DO? In an article in the Wall Street Journal (July 26), Rachel Bachman recounts the statistical and anecdotal evidence that coffee will improve the athletic performance of star athletes. She opens with the story of a swimmer, Elizabeth Beisel, who tried coffee for the first time at the London Olympics in 2012 and set two personal bests. She quotes Steve Magness, the author of THE SCIENCE OF RUNNING: “I’d say that at the elite level, the majority of athletes use caffeine….[Caffeine] just consistently, repeatedly works.” For statistical evidence, she cites about a dozen studies conducted by Dr. Juan Del Coso. “Athletes who drank caffeine jumped a little higher and ran a little faster than athletes who drank a similar but decaffeinated beverage.”
The article notes that drinking a lot of coffee will not turn a mediocre athlete into a good one.