“A synthetic form of Japanese hornet spit is growing in popularity among endurance athletes. When it comes to staying ahead of the competition, people will try nearly anything, as evidenced by recent doping scandals in professional American sports.” More
Brian Krans
Giant Hornet Vomit Gives You a Competitive Edge
“A small but highly efficient killing machine – a hornet two inches long and with a wingspan up to three inches – lurks in the mountains of Japan. The voracious predator has a quarter-inch stinger that pumps out a dose of venom with an enzyme so strong it can dissolve human tissue”. More
“Hornets From Hell” – National Geographic News
“Sales of giant killer hornet juice are sure to soar following Naoko Takahashi record-setting run last weekend at the Berlin marathon. Thefirst woman to crack the two-hour, 20-minute barrier, Takahashi said her success was fuelled by a drink made from the juice of Japanese killer hornets. According to the diminutive Japanese runner, who was racing in her first marathon since taking gold at the Sydney Olympics, the juice reduces muscle fatigue and improves the body’s efficiency by increasing the ability to metabolize fat and reduce the buildup of lactic acid. And best of all, hornet juice doesn’t appear on any banned substance list.”
USAtoday.com
“Japan’s Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi has flatly denied that she was helped by a performance-enhancing substance when she set the world’s best marathon time in Berlin. Takahashi’s year-old comment that her success at the Sydney Olympics was partly due to drinking the stomach secretions of larval grubs of giant killer hornets…” More
BBC Sports
“But my point is that today we are a fat nation, and we have low self-esteem because our role models are thin. Something needs to be done about this. The simplest solution, of course, would be to put Britney Spears in a room filled with Moon Pies and refuse to let her out until she ate them all.
But that would be wrong. So instead we must embark on a national program to lose weight. There is only one safe, sane way to do this: Eat less, and exercise more. So we can rule THAT out. Which leads us to the only other option: hornet juice. I am not making Hornet Juice up.” More
Dave Barry
The Miami Herald’s Pulitzer Prize Winning Humor Columnist
“Olympic marathon champion Naoko Takahashi drank the stomach juices of giant killer hornets to give her performance an extra buzz, it has emerged.
Ms Takahashi of Japan took the unusual beverage before and during the race after scientists found it boosted human stamina.
The marathon runner has reportedly said the juice was “a crucial factor” in helping her win gold at last month’s Sydney games.
Reports on Monday said that the drink, which is 100% natural, did not fall foul of Olympic laws against performance-enhancing drugs.” More
BBC News
“Japan Abuzz Over Hornet Saliva As High-Tech Sports Drink. Drinking hornet saliva may not sound particularly appealing, but it’s a $50 million a year business in Japan – and many here believe the insect fluid helped propel Olympic marathoner Naoko Takahashi to her gold medal victory at the Sydney Games in September.”Amino acids taken from the saliva of baby hornets improve physical endurance in humans, according to biochemist Takashi Abe, who developed the drink five years ago” More
Boston Globe
“In Japan, marathon runners and other endurance athletes are swilling a new sports drink which contains a liquid secreted by hornet larvae. In fact, 2000 Olympic Marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi claims the hornet juice contributed to her victory in Sydney. This bug juice, mostly a mixture of amino acids, is normally consumed by adult hornets, and, according to scientific researchers, gives these insects their great endurance and speed.”
RunnersWorld.com
“Hornet Juice the secret to success in marathons. The killer insect’s stomach fluids reduce muscle fatigue and lactic acid build-up.
The women’s marathon winner at the Sydney Olympics has revealed the secret of her success – she drank the stomach juices of giant, killer hornets that fly 100km a day at up to 25 km/hr.”
Click here to view PDF file (750 Kb)
Daily Telegraph
“Scientists at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research near Tokyo found the juice helped the three-inch (8 cm) long hornets to fly the equivalent of more than two marathons in search of food – and had a similar effect on humans. The juice reduced muscle fatigue and improved the body’s efficiency, according to scientists.”
ABC News
“Japan’s Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi ran the fastest ever women’s marathon on Sunday as she broke the 2 hours 20 minutes barrier to win in Berlin.
The 29-year-old’s winning time of 2hr 19mins 46secs was the first time a woman has dipped below 2hrs 20mins, a mark some have compared to the first four-minute mile.” More
BBC Sport
“Soon after Olympic women’s marathon champion Naoko Takahashi showed overwhelming strength to win the Berlin Marathon on Sept 30, the New York Times suggested she might have got some help from a peculiar drug. Almost two pages were devoted to the Oct 1 article by reporter Jere Longman who wrote: ‘Since the Sydney Olympics, Naoko Takahashi has been taking a concoction based on the secretion of hornet larvae.”
Shukan Post
“Takahashi doesn’t drink Gatorade or Powerade. Rather, she is loyal to a more peculiar elixir that she has called the crucial factor in her success. ‘It’s a sport drink made from a liquid that hornets produce. I’ve been drinking it for the last five years. It makes it possible to run far. Hornet juice enables athletes to give everything.”
Mt Holyoke News
“Olympic women’s marathon champion Naoko Takahashi has been given a prestigious award by under-pressure Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori.
The 28-year-old runner won the first athletics Olympic gold for Japanese womenand has now become the 15th person to receive the People’s Honour Award since it began back in 1977.” More
BBC Sport
Back to Top
“Naoko Takahashi created a piece of Olympic history by becoming the first Japanese woman to win an Olympic track and field event as she took marathon gold in Sydney. The 28-year-old also set a new Olympic best time of two hours, 24 minutes 14 seconds” More
BBC Sport
“The sports drink has become popular ever since Takahashi cited it as the source of her stamina at Sydney. The drink, which contains extract from the giant hornet Mandarina Japonica, has also proved popular with non-Japanese marathon runners since it was the subject of an article in The New York Times.” More
Japan File – Kansai Time Out
“The hornet juice reduced muscle fatigue and improved the body’s efficiency, according to scientists. “We are delighted that the fruits of our research have been recognized through Naoko Takahashi’s success,” a spokesman for the institute told Reuters.”
UW News
“Naoko Takahashi, who became a national heroine by winning the women’s marathon, drank Hornet Juice, the unusual beverage before and during the race after Japanese scientists found it gave an astonishing boost to human performance. The drink, being 100 percent natural, does not fall foul of Olympic laws against performance-enhancing drugs.”
Netscape
“A Japanese marathon star who won Olympic gold in Sydney got a crucial extra buzz by drinking the stomach juice of giant, killer hornets. Naoko Takahashi, who became a national heroine by winning the women’s marathon, drank the unusual beverage before and during the race after Japanese scientists found it gave an astonishing boost to human performance.”
Cosmiverse
Back to Top
“It scored a hit with its sports drink, which contains endurance-enhancing amino acids found in hornet saliva. Hornet Juice had crowds abuzz at the 2000 Sydney Olympics after marathoner Naoko Takahashi drank it on her way to a gold-medal finish.”
Hoover’s Online
Takahashi makes spectacular comeback to win the Tokyo International Women’s Marathon on 20 November 2005
2000 Olympic Marathon champion Naoko Takahashi of Japan won the 2005 Tokyo International Women’s Marathon with a time of 2:24:39. This was the first marathon in two years for the former World Record holder. More
The Asahi Shimbun
Killer hornets get a taste for humans
Between 20 and 40 Japanese die from hornet stings every year, more than the number killed by poisonous snakes. Evidence suggests a higher than usual death toll this year. Death by hornet sting is caused by anaphylactic shock, an allergic reaction leading to unconsciousness and breathing failure. More
The Times