Nine elite archers in ten report at least 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram a day, but four in ten stay below 1.2

The summary today

There are two measurements, made in very different ways. In 2025 eight Turkish national team archers, followed over four tournament days with food weighed before and after every meal and a menu designed by a nutritionist, take in on average between 2.1 and 2.8 grams of protein per kilogram per day, with no differences between men and women: this is what a supported team eats at a competition, on a menu chosen by someone else. In 2026 a questionnaire on fifty-one elite archers from twenty-two countries, covering the preparation period, gives the distribution by band: 9.8 per cent report less than 0.8 grams per kilogram, 31.4 per cent between 0.8 and 1.2, 35.3 per cent between 1.2 and 1.6 and 23.5 per cent above. Nine in ten therefore sit above the lowest band, and four in ten below 1.2. The study does not say which threshold it considers sufficient for an archer, so the registry reports the bands without deciding where enough ends. The limits matter: the first sample is small and supported, the second reports from memory in broad bands, and neither study links protein intake to recovery, injuries or score.

Also phrased as: "protein in an archer's diet"; "protein needs in archery"; "how much protein an archer needs"; "elite archers' diet"; "protein supplements and archery"

Evidence

• 2025
  Context Archers Published later

  8 Turkish national team archers, 4 men and 4 women, over four competition days with food and drink weighed before and after consumption and a menu designed by a nutritionist: protein from 2.1 ± 0.3 to 2.8 ± 0.5 grams per kilogram per day (from 127 ± 28 to 167 ± 33 grams), no effect of sex, higher intake on days 1 and 3 than on day 4. It describes a supported team during a competition, not elite archers' habitual diet.

  Sex differences in energy intake, sweat rate, and electrolyte loss among world-class archers during competition · Ozcan Esen, Stuart Goodall

• 2026
  For Archers Published later

  51 elite archers from 22 countries, self-administered questionnaire on the preparation period: reported protein below 0.8 grams per kilogram per day 9.8 per cent (5), between 0.8 and 1.2 31.4 per cent (16), between 1.2 and 1.6 35.3 per cent (18), between 1.6 and 2.0 19.6 per cent (10), above 2 3.9 per cent (2).

  Relationships between nutrition, training frequency, and anthropometric characteristics in elite archers · Natalija Uršulin-Trstenjak, Amanda Mlinarić, Bojan Šarkanj, Ivana Dodlek Šarkanj, Ivana Herak, Manuela Filipec

• 2026
  Context Archers Published later

  In the same sample fewer than half have access to a sports nutritionist (47.1 per cent) and 37.3 per cent receive advice from a qualified specialist, while 80.4 per cent consider their diet healthy and 86.3 per cent say they have enough energy during the day.

  Relationships between nutrition, training frequency, and anthropometric characteristics in elite archers · Natalija Uršulin-Trstenjak, Amanda Mlinarić, Bojan Šarkanj, Ivana Dodlek Šarkanj, Ivana Herak, Manuela Filipec

Status history

1. 2025 Not studied A first figure arrives, but it does not yet answer the question: eight Turkish national team archers, followed through a four-day tournament with a menu designed by a nutritionist and food weighed before and after eating, take in on average between 2.1 and 2.8 grams of protein per kilogram per day, with no differences between men and women. That is what a supported team eats during a competition, not how elite archers feed themselves, and with eight people and group averages there is no way to see how the archers are spread: the question remains open.
2. 2026 Reported A questionnaire on fifty-one elite archers from twenty-two countries gives the distribution in the preparation period for the first time: about one in ten reports less than 0.8 grams per kilogram, four in ten less than 1.2, and fewer than a quarter go above 1.6. The 2025 tournament points the same way for the majority, but here the answers are self-reports in broad bands from those who chose to reply, and there is only one study: reported.

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