It is a myth that muscles, strength and endurance require the consumption of large amounts of foods of animal origin. This myth started before anyone even talked about protein. During the Olympics, it’s a great time to take a look at some amazing athletes who are champions and vegetarians:

1. Charlene wong is a champion skater who represented Canada at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. She began competing at the age of 6 and in 1980 was named a member of the Canadian team and represented Canada at the World Junior Championships. She was featured in The Vegetarian Sports Nutrition Guide by Lisa Dorfman.

2. Paavo nurmi, a Finnish runner, was a vegetarian since he was 12 years old. He is often considered the greatest track and field athlete of all time. A long-distance runner, he competed in the 1920, 1924, and 1928 Olympic Games, winning 12 Olympic medals.

3. Chris campbell, a wrestler, trained for the 1980 Olympics but did not compete when the US team boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics. At age 37, he began training again and secured a spot on the US team, winning a medal bronze at the 1992 Olympics, becoming the oldest American to win a medal in Olympic wrestling. He says, “I take care of my body. I don’t eat meat and I do yoga every day. It makes a difference.”

4. Carl lewisA vegan athlete, he won 10 Olympic medals, including 9 gold, in a career that spanned 1979 to 1996, competing for the United States. He said that “most athletes have the worst diet in the world and compete despite it.”

5. Surya bonaly, a professional figure skater, represented France at the 1992, 1994 and 1998 Olympics. She is also now a US citizen. A vegetarian, she has appeared in PETA ads protesting Canada’s baby seal hunt and the fur trade in English and French.

6. Debbie lawrence, a vegetarian cyclist, has been an Olympian three times (1992, 1996 and 2000) and holds the world record for the women’s 5 km race. She attributes her success to hard work and a vegetarian diet.

7. Murray rose, a vegetarian since birth, she has six Olympic medals. He was born in 1939 in Nairn, Scotland, but moved to Australia with his family at a young age. He was an Olympic champion at seventeen. He was known for his vegetarianism during his career, which earned him the nickname “The Seaweed Streak.” He competed in the Olympics from 1956 to 1960, winning six medals.

8. Al Oerter, discus thrower, won four Olympic gold medals for the United States, in 1956, 1960, 1964. He was also an abstract painter.

9. Edwin Moses, a hurdler for the United States, is a gold medalist who spent eight years without losing the 400-meter hurdles. Throughout his career, he won two Olympic gold medals. After retiring from the track, he completed a 1990 World Cup toboggan race in Germany and won the two-man bronze medal with American Olympian Brian Shimer. Edwin Moses is a vegetarian.

10. Leroy burrell, a sprinter, twice set the world record for the 100-meter sprint. He won a gold medal for the United States in 1992 in Barcelona. He is vegetarian.

As stated in “Vegetarian Diets” from the International Center for Sports Nutrition, Olympic Coaches Magazine, Winter 1997:

“If you are careful to include a wide variety of foods, vegetarian diets can be nutritionally adequate to support athletic performance.”

“Whether an individual is a recreational or world-class athlete, being a vegetarian does not diminish natural talent or athletic performance. As early as the Ancient Games, Greek athletes trained on vegetarian diets and demonstrated astonishing ability in competitive athletics. “.

Looking at these 10 vegetarian Olympians, it is clear that the need to eat meat to be strong and a champion is a myth. A whole food, plant-based diet will give the athlete all the great nutrition they need to be a winner.