Community
Print
Vegan athlete Sasho Dimitrov Andreev recently won two gold medals at the World Armwrestling Championships in Moldova.
Read more: Vegan Wins National Weightlifting Championships in Croatia
Andreev competed and won in both the left and right-handed events of the 90kg category at the World Armwrestling Federation’s 45th World Armwrestling Championships in August.
This enabled him to take home two gold medals for his performance, bringing his total to 12 world titles after his first place at the European championships earlier this year. The Bulgarian athlete has also won a gold and a bronze medal for wrestling at a national level.
Andreev told Plant Based News (PBN) that he has been vegan for over five years and vegetarian for nearly seven. He has previously said that he eats lentils and beans most days, along with rice, peas, potatoes, nuts, fruit, and other nutritious plant-based and whole-food ingredients, per Great Vegan Athletes.
“Thanks to everyone who was by my side for the wishes and support,” wrote Andreev on Instagram after his most recent double gold. “Stay healthy!”
Read more: ‘I’m Vegan And A Nationally Qualified Powerlifter – Here’s What I Eat In A Day’
‘You can be a champion athlete and still be compassionate’
Vegan runners, cyclists, powerlifters, and more have all made headlines in 2024 for their achievements. In October alone, bodybuilders Guilherme Oliveira and Maddie McConnel had victories at Mr Olympia Brazil and the OCB World Championship Yorton Cup, respectively, while Melissa Busta won first place at the US Strongman Corporation National Championship.
Also in the last month, the Vegan Strong PlantBuilt team won 55 medals at the Mr America 2024 Sports Festival, of which 48 were gold. Speaking to Plant Based News (PBN) back in 2022, PlantBuilt co-founder Giacomo Marchese noted that he thought “ignorance and misinformation” were the reasons that people think elite athletes can’t excel on a vegan diet.
Talking of the team’s recent successes, Marchese said “As more people see the success the Vegan Strong PlantBuilt team has at Mr America and other competitions, they will realize that plant protein can take you to the elite levels of their sports.”
“You can be a champion athlete and still be compassionate,” he added.
Read more: 20 Vegan Recipes High In ‘Complete’ Proteins
