What to drink after open water swimming?

A fizzy drink. That’s the advice you get when you ask around about tips for dealing with a swimmer’s stomach. It’s only normal that you get some water in your system, but how is Coca-Cola supposed to help prevent stomachs afterwards? Is it just a myth or does it work? Let’s find out.

The story of Richard Weinberger

Richard Weinberger won the 10k bronze medal in 2012 in Rio de Janiro. The water they swam in for the event was criticised for being unsafe. It was said to contain chemicals and was material from nearby factories. You would be at higher risk of catching stomach flu by swimming in those conditions.

Not long after the race and winning the bronze medal, a journalist asked Weinberger what he thought of the water. His answer is rather curious. After saying that he never got sick from seawater, he adds that he always drinks a can of soda drink after every swim in open water where he swallows seawater. A trick he learned from one of his former coaches.

Is drinking Coca-Cola after swimming in open water a myth?

Richard Weinberger believes that Cola-Cola helps him stay healthy after swallowing the bacteria during a swim in open water. There is even a theory that the phosphoric acid in fizzy drinks sets the processes in your body to kill the bacteria.

But not everyone agrees. On the different forums for open water swimmers around the world, the question is asked and more or less answered the same way: it is a myth that got started because the local salesman wanted to sell more Coca-Cola

Another possible explanation is that back in the day only Coca-Cola was available everywhere. There weren’t any other sports drinks around. Swimmers drank Coca-Cola after a long swim to restore their energy. And here, the myth might have been born due to coincidence: the swimmers that drank Coca-Cola seemed healthier than those that didn’t.

If it is a myth, why does it preserve?

I’ve been calling it a myth. But on those same forums around the world, there is always someone who says: try it out. This belief or this hope in the remedy of taking Coca-Cola because it could kill bacteria remains strong because there hasn’t been a study to approve it. Or disapprove of it. No one has ever given swimmers Coca-Cola after completing a swim to study the results.

Should you drink Coca-Cola after swimming in open water?

There is a reason why the idea that Coca-Cola helps with swimmer's stomach has survived for many years and has even gotten advised by coaches. We do not have scientific evidence and there are still reasons that it might work. A fizzy drink, something like Cola-Cola, could help with killing possible bugs and viruses.