Frantic consumer traffic overwhelms the McDonald's located in the Olympic Village in the international zone. The zone is a convenience area for the athletes, where they hold welcome ceremonies and where journalists have access to the competitors.

The only place that serves a hot lunch is the famous fast-food restaurant itself. And don't think that the athletes are eating there against their will.

They take advantage of the fact that the food is free and often overdo it. It's not unusual to see an athlete juggling two ice-cream cones in each hand. Others stuff themselves on hamburgers and chicken nuggets. The only thing that doesn't get abused is soft drinks. Most athletes opt for orange juice instead.

Throughout the morning on Tuesday (the 2nd) and up until lunchtime, large lines formed outside the entrance to the restaurant. The weight-lifting athletes take first place in gluttony since they don't have to worry about a more restrictive diet and are the gorging champions.

The weight-lifter duo Yoichi Itokazyu 25, and Hiroaki Takoa, 24, eat at the restaurant every day. They have an excuse: The official restaurant for athletes inside the Olympic Village doesn't serve Japanese food. They don't complain though, because they like it.

Every morning, the weight-lifting team from Armenia performs a gastronomic ritual. Two members hold a table while another disappears into the restaurant only to return chock-full of bags. By the end of the meal, there is a small tower of little cardboard boxes stacked on the wooden table.

There are those who are following a strict athletic diet and are seen leaving the restaurant with nothing but coffee in their hands - like a Dutch team that wouldn't talk to reporters. But these are the minority.

Nobody seems to be worried about the over-consumption of calories. Snezana Damjanac, a member of the coaching staff of Montenegro's handball team, teases "I can because I'm not competing, but my athletes can't", jests the member of the team that won silver in London-2012.

Miguel Francis, 21, a track-and-field competitor from Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean, defends himself, "If you don't eat the fries, which are very oily, it's like any other beef or chicken sandwich. It's not 'junk food'", he said.

A trio from Ukraine gives up on the long line. Cubans and Chinese - these especially are ice-cream cone fans - are having a carefree lunch. Reporters couldn't find any athletes from North Korea.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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	Lucas Vettorazzo/Folhapress
	Frantic consumer traffic overwhelms the McDonald's located in the Olympic Village in the international zone