With the Rio Summer Olympic Games taking place this month, we thought we’d sharing with you some of the Olympians that follow a plant-based diet.

Even though a vegetarian or vegan diet is practiced by some of the best athletes today, most nutritionists are still cynical of this as being adequate for professional sportspeople.

Vegan Hearsay
One of the most popular reasons for people’s reservations of this diet is the belief that there is a lack of protein. It takes a new type of dedication to make sure that you get protein in every meal, but it’s not hard. The truth is, protein is in all kinds of foods besides meat. It can be found in food such as beans, nuts, lentils, quinoa, tofu, and green beans. There are also plant-based protein powders, which you can add to your drinks, soups or smoothies.

There are a number of world-class athletes that don’t eat meat. Here are some of the Olympic athletes who continue to rise as a living proof that practicing a vegan diet can equal high-level physical performance.

Kendrick Farris
“I transitioned to a vegan diet and I’m happy to report my life has changed for the better. I feel like a new person.”

Three-time Olympic weightlifter Kendrick Farris from the United States is a practicing vegan since 2014. Farris completed the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games and has also moved up a weight class since then. In 2016, he set an American record at 94kg, achieving the Pan Championships, paving his way to his third Olympic qualification.

He began a vegan diet after his child was born, feeling like he needed to do something different. The desire to get back to the purest form of life and being and it started with food.

Morgan Mitchell
“I love animals, so watching them get taken from their mothers made me really sad. I sat down with my dietician and she said all of these (dietary needs) can come from a plant-based diet.”

Sprinter Morgan Mitchell from Australia is someone who’s following a vegan diet for a cause. She dominated the Australian domestic season with 12 unbeaten races. Entering the 2016 Olympic Games, the Australian national booked herself a place on the Australian Olympic team with a qualifying time of 51.84 seconds. Hence, she is now ranked 18th in the world.

Her vegan journey started when she watched a documentary about animal cruelty. From that day on, it changed her life and she became determined to become a vegan, strictly plant-based only.

Lizzie Armitstead
“I never liked the taste or texture of meat. Most people in my family are big meat-eaters, and my parents encouraged me to finish my plate, which also included meat. I suppose they realized it wasn’t fussiness or a phase by the age of ten, which is when they allowed me to make my own choices.”

The top-ranked female cyclist Lizzie Armitstead from Great Britain started her vegetarian journey from a very young age. She won Great Britain’s first silver medal of the Olympic Games 2012 in the road race. She is the reigning and two-time winner of the UCI Women’s Road World Cup, winning the overall competition in two consecutive years from 2014-2015.

When she was 10 years old, she told her parents that she wanted to become a vegetarian and since then she has followed a vegetarian diet her entire life. She confessed that she’s having a hard time to keep her iron levels up, but she points out that all female athletes have this problem regarding iron levels – not only those that practice a vegetarian diet.

Venus and Serena Williams
“I’m not perfect, so I forgive myself when I make mistakes and I do a lot of juicing as well, a lot of wheat grass shots, lots of fresh juices and things like that.” – Venus Williams.

“My go-to cookbook is called Eat Yourself Sexy. I’ve been eating a lot healthier for my sister, so the cookbook has all these raw meals, green juices, and smoothies.” – Serena Williams.

Dynamic sister duo and tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams from the United States follow a healthy raw vegetarian diet. Both sisters are Grand Slam title winners; Venus Williams seven times and Serena Williams 22 times. Between 2000 and 2016, they won an astounding 12 Wimbledon singles titles and both have won four Olympic Games gold medals. In 2002, after the French Open, the sisters were ranked No. 1 and No. 2.

The sisters didn’t grow up vegetarian. However, when Venus was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease – Sjögren’s syndrome – she decided to become a raw vegetarian to restore her health. Serena joined her sister’s diet to show support and encouragement.

Novak Djokovic
Djokovic has said that he is “Vegan with […] a little bit of fish here and there.”

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic used a vegetarian diet to fuel his victories. He has won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and in the 2016 French Open, he became the eighth player in history to achieve the Career Grand Slam. The Serbian national became the third man to have all four major titles at once. With these remarkable accomplishments, he is currently ranked as the world’s number one in men’s singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals and considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

In 2010, Djokovic learned that he was allergic to gluten. It was that time when he discovered why he had to bear so many disappointments in his career. Hence, he decided to follow a gluten-free diet. Changing his diet became a turning point in his profession. He became the world’s number one just 12 months later. His commitment to his diet grew prominently ever since; in May, he confirmed that he no longer eats meat. In fact, in April this year, he opened a vegan restaurant in Monte Carlo.

We at R.A.W. Inside Out salute these elite sportspeople for having the stamina to go vegan.

^{Written by Germina Paola, for R.A.W. Inside Out
Edited by Nedda Chaplin
Images: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 18 : Serena Williams in action at the 2016 Australian Open from Shutterstock}

^{References:
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Payten, I. (2016, July 25). Morgan Mitchell’s Rio Olympic campaign transformed by a documentary on animal cruelty. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/olympics-2016/morgan-mitchells-rio-olympic-campaign-transformed-by-a-documentary-on-animal-cruelty/news-story/521856cf99e888ab34f4a73513a4f825
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Perrotta, T. (2016, May 26). Djokovic: 'Vegan with a Little Fish Here and There' Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/djokovic-vegan-with-a-little-fish-here-and-there-1464285406}

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