Top 10 High Profile Vegan Athletes

Top 10 High Profile Vegan Athletes

Ninx - 17.01.22

If you ever thought that a vegan or vegetarian diet can’t provide you with all the nutrients, protein and energy to be bigger, stronger and fitter, well this list of the top 10 Vegan athletes will surprise you.

A plant-based diet, combined with an exercise regime designed to encourage size and strength can and will work, providing you approach it the right way. After all, these top 10 athletes prove it!

So here are the top 10 Vegan athletes…

#1 Venus Williams - Grand Slam Single & Doubles Tennis Champion

One of the best ever tennis players from the US. She’s won 5 Wimbledon titles and 4 Olympic Golds. She is without doubt one of the best. But did you know she was vegan?

Yes! She went vegan in 2011 after being diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome. Her tennis career almost stalled as a result of her illness, however the vegan diet helped her with joint pain and fatigue.

She began following a raw vegan diet, which typically involves eliminating all animal products and foods cooked above 118 degrees Fahrenheit.

#2 Tony Gonzalez - NFL Player

Tony Gonzalez is considered to be a legend of the sport by many American Football aficionados - and he’s vegan.

He’s played 17 seasons in the NFL. He’s also an actor and a sports analyst on Fox.

#3 David Haye - World Title Boxer

David Haye is a British boxer who won world titles in two weight divisions. In 2008, he won three of the four major boxing world titles at cruiserweight. What may surprise you is that he follows a strict vegan diet plan - just one of a few famous boxing vegan athletes.

Many people say not to go vegan as you will lose out on the protein but if a professional boxer can look this good then what are you missing out on?

Haye has previously said that he has a full-time chef who helps him prepare all of his vegan meals in order to ensure he gets all his minerals and nutrients.

#4 Nate Diaz - UFC Fighter

Nate Diaz is an MMA fighter (Mixed Martial Arts). He competes in the UFC - the world’s biggest mixed martial arts organisation. He’s the most successful vegan athlete to ever step into the ‘octagon’...

If this guy can wrestle and punch in a ring for 25 minutes and show no sign of fatigue, then his diet must be working.

After becoming vegan at the age of 18, Diaz has said that “I think you’re a smarter and more intelligent fighter when you go vegan…”.

#5 Heather Mills - Skier

She’s known as ‘the fastest disabled woman on the plant’. She’s a world champion skier - and she’s vegan. Heather Mills - multiple Downhill Skiing Champion.

While she has previously used a raw vegan diet, Heather now eats wholefood vegan food.

She has stated publicly that her “..plan is to improve the world with veganism and that includes showing that healthy Vegans can be the best in sport.”

#6 Kendrick Farris - Weightlifter

Can you be vegan and lift Olympic-weight objects? Well, Kendrick Farris proves you can. Farris is an American Olympic weightlifter who finished 11th in his weight class at the 2016 Olympic games.

Who says a vegan can’t lift heavy weights? Kendrick Farris has gone on to say “..We shouldn’t get so caught up with ‘protein, protein, protein.’ Because you can get an excess of protein and most of it just gets passed through the body.”

#7 Scott Jurek - Long Distance Runner

Scott Jurek is an American Ultra-Marathon runner and winner of 16 prestigious ultra-marathon titles.

He’s been vegan since 1997 and practices and advocates a 100% vegan diet. He maintains that this is crucial in supporting endurance, recovery and health.

On deciding to go vegan in college, Jurek said: “It was definitely a long-term decision rather than one made for short-term performance gains.”

#8 Jermain Defoe - Footballer

Defoe played for England and also scored over 150 goals for the clubs he played for in the English Premier League. He was considered to be amongst England’s finest players during his time.

A former girlfriend is said to have convinced him to give veganism a try and he stayed with it.

With regards to giving up meat, he once said “I don’t find anything hard to give up as such because I know the feeling scoring goals gives me..”

#9 Patrick Baboumian - Body Builder

Baboumian has been a vegetarian since 2005 and became a vegan in 2011. It’s surprising that a lot of people still think you can’t make gains on a vegan diet.

Patrick has competed in many weight lifting and body building events and has come out triumphant.

In 2013, he broke the world record for the yoke walk by carrying 550kg (1212.54 pounds) for a distance of 10 meters. He later broke that same record in 2015 by carrying 560kg (1234.59 pounds).

#10 Lewis Hamilton - Formula 1 Driver

He’s a 4-time Formula 1 World Champion and is considered to be the best driver ever so far. Lewis Hamilton is a relatively new member to the list of vegan athletes after adopting a vegan diet earlier in 2017.

During an interview with CNN, Hamilton said “It’s crazy. I’m not putting more weight on because, with this new plant-based diet, I can have more carbs which is contradictory to what you’d normally have thought diet-wise, but I’m not going to complain. I love pancakes so it’s great!”

Hamilton is now one of the most successful vegan athletes ever.

If you’re thinking of going vegan or vegetarian, you may want to also consider supplementing your diet with good quality multi-vitamins and a good quality plant-based supplements product to help manage weight loss.