Eating In The Olympic Dining Hall Looks Very Different For Athletes This Year

Things are looking a little different at the Olympics this year — especially when it comes time to sit down for a meal.

The Olympic dining hall has a very different atmosphere than usual, and it's all to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The International Olympic Committee and the host city of Tokyo have implemented intense safety protocols to help keep the best athletes in the world healthy when they stop by for a bite to eat.

Some of these elite athletes are even giving us an inside look at the experience, which *spoiler alert* involves a lot of hand sanitizer.

Team Australia water polo player Tilly Kearns gave a behind-the-scenes look at the dining hall when she recently documented meal time from start to finish on TikTok:

First, masked-up athletes sanitize their hands:

Next, athletes put on a pair of disposable gloves before touching anything inside the dining hall:

Then, they can grab a sanitized tray and pick out what they'd like to eat:

Athletes are then seated at tables separated by clear plexiglass dividers and given sanitizing wipes to further clean their dining area:

Finally, they are permitted to remove their masks and dig in:

And on the way out? A new mask and more hand sanitizer!

And while it may seem like a lot of work just to get fed, there's apparently a TON of options:

Apparently there's way more variety than there was in Rio, according to Team Australia tennis player Luke Saville:

And if you ask Team USA rugby player Ilona Maher, the food is amazing:

And the gyozas? The "best in the world":

Bon appétit, Olympians!