Miles Evans is keeping his eyes on the prize.
Since securing Team USA’s last Olympic beach volleyball spot after a late surge in qualifying, the 34-year-old and partner Chase Budinger, 36, have gone straight into prep mode, practicing five days a week leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“We’re sometimes doing double days,” Evans told E! News in an exclusive interview. “We're just basically trying to make sure that we have the confidence going into the Olympics.”
And during these long days of physical training, Evans is burning thousands and thousands of calories. That’s why he sticks to a strict eating schedule that helps his body keep up with the demands of an Olympic athlete and ensures that he can give his all on the court.
So what exactly does the diet of an Olympian consist of?
“I eat oatmeal in the morning, and then a protein bar at practice because I deplete calories super quickly,” Evans explained. “And then I like to have chicken or fish afterwards. So those are kind of more lean meats.”
As for dinner, he returns to his favorite proteins, admitting, “I usually have either chicken or fish with broccoli and sweet potatoes every night.”
While this simple, yet protein-packed diet is enough fuel his body during the games, Evans relies on his team—including the former NBA player he first teamed up with in 2023—to help him get into the right headspace before stepping onto the court.
“We all get together, we do some breathing techniques, we do some visualization,” he said. “Try to just kind of let all of the nerves and outside factors of what's going on with us, just trying to leave that behind and move forward.”
Another way he’s prepared to step on the world’s biggest stage is getting insight from the pros, including beach volleyball legend Kerri Walsh Jennings. And beyond competing itself, the three-time gold medalist reminded the athletes to take a moment to appreciate the comradery of being part of Team USA.
“One thing that she told us was to, for sure, do the opening ceremony,” he shared. “And I'm definitely looking forward to that. I'm just excited at the end of the day to represent the U.S. and just give it my all.”