Michael Phelps is rewriting Olympic history on almost a daily basis - and now we know how.

It all comes down to a fried-egg sandwich. Or to be more precise, three fried-egg sandwiches and the cheese, tomatoes, onions and mayo. And that's just for starters.

"Eat, sleep and swim, that's all I can do," Phelps said after winning his eleventh Olympic gold medal. Boy can he eat.

The 23-year-old's diet is almost as staggering as his performances in the swimming pool and involves him taking on about 4,000 calories every time he sits down for a medal - something more plausibly associated with competitive eating than championship swimming.

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When asked what he needed to continue his gold-medal winning streak, he said, "Get some calories into my system and try to recover the best I can."

The average man of the same age needs about 2,000 calories a day, but with Phelps due to swim 17 times over nine days of competition in Beijing he is bringing a whole new spin to the phrase 'a breakfast of champions'.

Phelps wakes up at about 5am and sits down to a breakfast of three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. He follows that with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelette, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

At lunch, he puts away about half a kilo of pasta, before tucking into two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. To help wash that down he drinks another 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

For dinner, Phelps really goes to town, with another half kilo of pasta and an entire pizza for good measure. And don't forget another 1,000 calories in energy drinks.

Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelette. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Lunch: One pound of pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayonnaise on white bread, plus 1,000 calories of energy drinks.

Dinner: One pound of pasta, an entire pizza and even more energy drinks.