discussvegan.

Can you really be a strong athlete without meat?

Short answer: Some of the strongest, fastest people alive do it on plants, including a seven-time F1 champion and world-record strongmen.

Exhibit A
What “too weak to compete” looks like
7× Formula 1 World Champion, Lewis Hamilton (vegan)
24 Grand Slam titles, Novak Djokovic (plant-based)
550 kg Yoke-walk world record, Patrik Baboumian (vegan strongman)
Silver Olympic track cycling, age 39, Dotsie Bausch (vegan)

Djokovic describes his diet as plant-based and occasionally includes fish, so we call him plant-based, not strictly vegan. Every other name here is vegan.

The Game Changers (2018); athletes' own records

The objection

“You can’t build real strength or stamina on rabbit food. Serious athletes need meat.”

The answer

Then explain the people at the very top of their sports.

Lewis Hamilton won multiple of his seven Formula 1 world titles as a vegan. Novak Djokovic, arguably the greatest tennis player ever, with 24 Grand Slams, has been plant-based for a decade. Patrik Baboumian set a yoke-walking world record carrying 550 kg as a vegan strongman. Scott Jurek broke the Appalachian Trail speed record on plants. Dotsie Bausch took Olympic cycling silver at 39, vegan. These aren’t cherry-picked cranks; they are some of the strongest and fastest humans alive, and they built those bodies without touching an animal.

The science agrees with the scoreboard. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the world’s largest body of food and nutrition professionals, states plainly that well-planned vegan diets are appropriate for athletes and every stage of life. Plants carry all the protein, and all nine essential amino acids, you need to build muscle; gorillas, bulls and horses don’t seem to struggle.

A plant-based diet is no magic performance cheat code. What these athletes prove is narrower and harder to argue with: meat was never required. Strength, speed and endurance are all available on plants. So when meat sits on an athlete’s plate it isn’t there to build the muscle; it’s there for the reason this whole site keeps coming back to. Watch The Game Changers and decide for yourself.

Sources

  1. The Game Changers (2018), documentary, exec. produced by James Cameron, Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic & Arnold Schwarzenegger
  2. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Position: Vegetarian Diets (2016), appropriate for athletes and all life stages
  3. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Vegan Power Crushes the British Grand Prix and Wimbledon