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Not many people think about nutrition quite as much as those who do sports. And now, more than ever, athletes of all kinds and skill levels are turning to vegan diets to help boost their training, performance, recovery, and overall health and wellbeing.
In 2025 alone, vegan athletes of various disciplines, abilities, and ages celebrated incredible achievements in their fields, from one long-distance runner setting a new US record to a nun claiming her first powerlifting medal at the age of 72. All powered by plants. Here are 13 times that vegan athletes crushed their goals in 2025.
Read more: SPINS Data Finds The Plant-Based Sector Isn’t Dying, It’s Just Evolving
Vegan runner takes silver in 2025’s Wings For Life World Run
Back in May, vegan athlete Andreas Vojta came second in 2025’s Wings For Life World Run.
Vojta is a celebrated track runner from Austria. He holds multiple national records in the indoor and outdoor 1000 metres and previously qualified for the Olympics. He took silver in this year’s Wings For Life World Run with a total distance of 68,54km (more than 42 miles).
The Wings For Life World Run has a unique format, which sees participants of all abilities starting at the same time and running until “caught,” either in person or remotely. The overall winners are those who manage to run the furthest before being caught. This year’s race had 310,719 participants and raised €8.6 million (more than USD $10,000,000) for Spinal Cord Research. Vojta has been vegan since 2018 and regularly posts about his favorite plant-based sweets on social media.
Learn more here.
Vegan cyclist wins 2025 national time trial championship
In June, vegan cyclist Emily Ehrlich won the women’s elite time trial race at the 2025 USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships. To win the race, Ehrlich completed the out-and-back 20.1-mile route in just 43 minutes, with an average pace of nearly 30 miles per hour. She rides for the Blue Ridge Twenty 28, the premier US women’s team.
“This is everything for me,” said Ehrlich, as reported by Cycling Weekly at the time. “If there was one thing in cycling when I started riding and racing, what I wanted to do, this was it. So this really feels like a culmination of it all for me.”
Her victory at the Pro Road championships made her the official ITT National Champion for 2025. Ehrlich has been vegan since 2019. She told Plant Based News (PBN) that she “couldn’t remain a passive bystander” once she learned more about animal agriculture and decided to adopt a plant-based diet.
“Veganism is a natural philosophy for an athlete, and a whole foods plant-based diet is a clear advantage as an endurance athlete who pushes the limits,” said Ehrlich. “I have the most consistent high energy levels eating a high fiber diet rich in grains, beans, and greens.”
Learn more here.
Vegan marathoner runs length of UK for his 60th birthday
Between May and July, Bob Yates celebrated his 60th birthday by running the length of the UK. He made the 1,000-mile trip from Land’s End in Cornwall to John o’ Groats in Scotland as part of RUN BRITANNIA, a non-competitive event.
In addition to celebrating his birthday, Yates wanted the achievement to be both a personal milestone and a testament to the plant-based diet. He went vegan around six years ago – inspired by Veganuary – and believes that doing so boosted his energy, recovery, and performance, particularly when he’s doing his long runs.
“When I tell people I’m running 1,000 miles at 60, they’re surprised. When I add that I’m vegan, they’re puzzled and wonder how my diet will give me enough energy to fuel me from one end of the UK to the other,” said Yates at the time. “But the truth is, my vegan diet has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made – for my health, the planet, and animals.”
Learn more here.
Vegan triathlete becomes the 2025 German champion
In June, vegan triathlete Max Hoffmann took first place in the DTU Championships to become 2025’s German Champion. He competed in the middle-distance race at the VR Bank Triathlon Heilbronn, where he swam for 1.2 miles, cycled for 56 miles, and ran for 13.1 miles, covering a total of 70.3 miles in just over four hours to take first place.
Hoffman has been vegan since 2012, and previously told PBN that he was raised “mainly vegetarian” by his mother, Georgia Hoffmann. He said that he tries to “lead by example” when it comes to plant-based living, letting his sporting achievements speak for themselves.
He said that he intends for his actions to “demonstrate that a vegan diet and lifestyle can enable humans to perform at a very high level, if not the highest.”
Learn more here.
Vegan nun receives medal at her first powerlifting competition aged 72
In August, Sister Pat Farrell received a medal for competing in her first-ever powerlifting competition at the age of 72. The vegan nun is from the San Francisco Bay Area in California, and first began strength training just a few months earlier.
During the competition, Farrell benched 77 pounds (nearly 35kg) and deadlifted 160 pounds (72.5kg) – more than her body weight – and took first in her class. She said at the time that she hopes to compete in the squat next time.
Speaking to PBN founder Klaus Mitchell in July, Farrell said that she would “like to encourage” her fellow nuns to try strength and weight training, regardless of their age and experience. She said that lifting heavy weights has improved some of the “mechanical” issues she was experiencing by making her body stronger and more flexible. Farrell also explained that she has now been “steadily vegan” for around 12 years, and was previously a “spotty” vegetarian since around 1987.
Learn more here.
Vegan ultra runner Damian Hall wins 2025 Lakeland 100 race
In July, Damian Hall won the 2025 Montane Lakeland 100, one of the most challenging and scenic ultra-distance events in the UK. Hall is a vegan long-distance runner, author, and environmental activist. This year was his first attempt at the race, and he finished in 19 hours, 33 minutes, and 33 seconds, with an average pace of just over 11 minutes per mile.
The Lakeland 100 route is more than 105 miles long (nearly 170km) and features more than 6,500 meters of elevation gain in total. It also has a 40-50 percent drop-out rate, and 2025 saw 460 finishers out of the 721 runners who started. Hall won by around 30 minutes.
Hall told PBN at the time that he was “really chuffed” with the result and with the race overall. “At 49, I cherish the fact I’m still able to be competitive at the UK’s premier ultramarathons. Worked hard for it. But what a cracking event.”
Learn more here.
Vegan crowned Natural World’s Strongest Man in category for third year
In August, vegan athlete Tom Butts was crowned the Natural World’s Strongest Man in the 90kg weight class for the third consecutive year.
Butts took gold in four out of seven events at the World Natural Strongman Games in Galway, Ireland, against a “fiercely competitive” national field. One month earlier, he took first place in the under 90kg category at the Official Strongman British Championships, giving him the Britain’s Strongest Man title.
“People think you need meat to be strong. I’m living proof that’s just not true,” said Butts. “Three world titles. All natural. All powered by plants. My performance shows what’s possible when performance meets compassion.”
Learn more here.
Vegan armwrestler Sasho Andreev just took home two more medals
Also in August, vegan armwrestler Sasho Dimitrov Andreev took home two new gold medals, bringing the Bulgarian athlete’s total to 22 from World Armwrestling Championship events and 26 gold medals from the European Championship events.
Andreev competed and won in the 90kg left and right-handed competitions, earning him two gold medals and bringing his total to 12 world titles after his first place at the European Championships in May and June. In the 2024 world championships, Andreev won in both the left and right-handed events, too.
Speaking to PBN in November, Andreev said he had been vegan for over five years and vegetarian for nearly seven. He also said that he gets most of his protein from nutrient-dense whole foods like lentils, beans, rice, peas, potatoes, and nuts.
Learn more here.
Vegan bodybuilder wins overall bikini category at Tennessee competition
In September, Brooke Sellers, a vegan bodybuilder, became the Overall Bikini Champion at Tennessee’s 2025 NPC Knox Classic competition. In addition to winning in the Bikini category overall, Sellers also took first place in Open Class D and Novice Class B.
Sellers has been a competitive bodybuilder since 2022, and a vegan since 2018. She co-hosts the Vegans Who Lift podcast with John Thomas, “The Body Building Vegan,” and is the author of a high-protein plant-based cookbook. She is also a coach, and trains other vegan athletes online under the handle “Miss Meatless Muscle.”
“When I started, I was told I could never compete or be a bodybuilder without animal products,” Sellers told PBN. “Proving that wrong has been more than a personal achievement. It’s about showing that you can succeed without meat or dairy and without contributing to animal suffering.”
Learn more here.
Vegan athlete wins European Strongman Games and Static Monsters, sets new world record
Also in September, Angeline Berva won both the European Strongman Games and the Static Monsters World Championships 2025, where she set a new world record.
At the European games, Berva completed eight reps of a 210kg axle deadlift and threw five 12-15kg sandbags in less than 15 seconds to take first place. At Static Monsters, the hybrid strength athlete and strongwoman set the world record for women’s under 82kg axle deadlift with a 301kg pull, a lift more than 50kg heavier than that of her closest competitor.
“I’m 31 years old. I became vegan at 17 on a whim after watching L214 videos because I wanted to get involved in animal protection,” Berva told PBN. “So I’ve built my entire sports career around being vegan.”
Along with Butts, Berva is a member of Vegan Strong PlantBuilt., and the vegan athletes previously competed at Mr America 2024, where the team took 48 gold medals.
Learn more here.
Vegan runner takes third at Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra, runs 462 miles in 111 hours
In October, vegan ultrarunner Harvey Lewis ran 462 miles in 111 hours at Big Dog’s Backyard Ultra 2025 in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. In doing so, he achieved a personal best, broke a US record, and earned the joint sixth-best result ever for the format.
Big’s is the original backyard ultra, and participants run a 4.167-mile loop once per hour, every hour, until failure. Runners cover around 100 miles per day until only one remains. After running more than 400 miles, Lewis fell and broke two ribs. He then ran another 50 miles to take third place, and later said, “I managed to beat myself up pretty good.”
Lewis has been a vegetarian for nearly 30 years and a vegan for almost a decade. Like the UK’s Hall, he is also achieving significant running milestones at the age of 49 years old. In addition to his celebrated career as a long-distance runner, Lewis teaches at a creative and performing arts high school.
“My favorite vegan fuel during the race were Abe’s vegan muffins, chips and hummus, many different soups from lentil to black bean, pad thai, vegan mashed potatoes mixed with a bit of vegetable broth, vegan mac and cheez, and much more,” Lewis told PBN. “All vegan fueled!”
Learn more here.
Vegan athlete Torre Washington qualifies for Mr Olympia 2026
In November, plant-based bodybuilder and fitness coach Torre Washington competed at the 2025 Ben Weider Naturals Pro, where he took first place in two different classes, the Open Masters and Masters 40. These results qualified him for Mr Olympia 2026 next September, which he described as a “dream manifested.”
On training days, he said he often relies on high-protein and nutrient-dense foods such as tofu, seitan, Japanese sweet potatoes, rice cakes, almond butter, avocado, spinach, and green beans. He told PBN that asparagus, broccoli, lentils, plenty of fruit, and supplements from a plant-based company called Vedge Nutrition are also go-to ingredients for him and form part of his daily rotation.
“The plant-based [diet] has been helpful with my recovery and being able to eat a variety of foods without feeling restricted,” Washington said.
In May, Washington also took first place in two categories at the IFBB Pro League competition at the age of 50. He has been vegan for nearly 30 years.
Learn more here.
Vegan football star Karen Carney wins Strictly Come Dancing
At the start of December, Strictly Come Dancing favorite Karen Carney made it through to the quarter finals of the British TV program, and on Sunday, the 14th, the results show confirmed that she had made it through to the final.
The final aired on Saturday, December 20, 2025, on BBC One and saw Carney and her partner, Carlos Gu, win the competition and receive the Glitterball Trophy.
Carney is a sports journalist and former footballer widely known as “the wizard” for her skillful performance on the pitch. She remains England’s third most-capped player, and scored a total of 53 goals in 178 league appearances.
Carney has been vegan for more than seven years, beginning in her final year at Chelsea FC, where she played from 2016 to 2019. She recently told Closer that going plant-based “changed her life” and helped with her health.
“When I was at Chelsea, I was struggling with mental health, and when I did research, the one thing that came back was that a vegan diet could help, and also with inflammation,” Carney said. “I only did it for the last year [at Chelsea], and all the inflammation in my ankle went, and all my stats went through the roof.”
Learn more here.
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