Vegetarian Athletes

Famous Vegetarian Athletes

Many people assume that athletes can’t be vegetarian or vegan. There is a very common misconception that these diets are “weaker” than a typical American carnivorous diet. Unfortunately, this misconception has helped contribute to the overall poor health of our country. I’d like to take a minute to show you some excellent examples of superb athletes that have chosen a vegetarian or vegan diet and have all seen and reported significant athletic performance improvements that they attribute to their vegetarian or vegan diets.

Carl Lewis

1. Won 10 Olympic medals, was named Sportsman of the Century and Olympian of the Century
2. Lewis ran what he called the “the best race of my life” in 1991. At age 30 he dominated one of the most competitive races ever. Lewis is quoted as saying that he credits his performance to his vegan diet. He claims that the vegan diet works for him because he can eat larger quantities without affecting his athletic performance.

• Scott Jurek holds many records and countless 1^st place finishes in all kinds of extreme distance running events. Jurek has been a vegetarian since 1997 and a vegan since 1999. He promotes veganism throughout his books and running classes.

Bill Walton

1. Two time NBA champion and All Star, Walton had a long and successful career in basketball.
2. Walton has been an outspoken advocate for a variety of causes including vegetarianism.
   

• Mixed Martial Arts Champion, Mac Danzig won the reality contest The Ultimate Fighter 6. Danzig has also won King of the Cage and Extreme Trials events which are endurance fighting events where you have several fights close to back to back.
• Danzig has been a strict vegan since 2004 and promotes animal rights.

• Two time All Star and former Home Run Derby Champ, Prince Fielder at age 26 is a superstar in his prime. Fielder became a vegetarian in 2008 and has widely promoted it.

• A tennis legend, King racked up 12 Grand Slam Singles titles, 16 Grand Slam Doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King is also widely known as a vegetarian.

• A dominant force in tennis, Navratilova swept up 18 Grand Slam titles, 31 Grand Slam doubles titles, and 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.
  
• Navratilova has been an animal rights activist and appeared in ad campaigns for PETA.

• Controversial character, Mike Tyson was one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. Tyson was the first heavyweight to hold all 3 titles simultaneously. 50 wins and 6 losses with 44 knockouts, Tyson’s record speaks for itself.
  
• Tyson has been a famous vegan for many years. (he spit the ear back out you know)

• Six time Iron man triathlon winner, from 1980 to 1987 Scott either won the unbelievably hard competition, or did not compete.
  
• While training during his dominant period, Scott followed a strict vegan diet, which he believed helped his performance in the extremely demanding sport.

• Among the world’s best ultra Marathoners, Brazier has blazed a trail of fitness and vegetarian advocacy. Brazier started making his own concoctions of plant based endurance fuel while training for his professional career. He now produces a line of these nutritional products called Vega.
  
• Through his writing and lecturing, Brazier is accepted as the world authority on plant based nutrition.

Vegetarian and Vegan diets provide more than adequate nutrition for everyone, including athletes. This small list covers some of the most successful athletes in the world, but it just scratches the surface of the total number of vegetarian athletes out there. Check out What is a Vegetarian? for more info about vegetarianism.