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Sister Pat Farrell, a vegan nun from the San Francisco Bay Area in California, recently received a medal for competing in her first-ever powerlifting competition at the age of 72.
She began strength training just four months ago to work on her health. During the competition, Farrell benched 77 pounds (nearly 35kg) and deadlifted 160 pounds (72.5kg), which is more than her body weight. Next time, she hopes to compete in the squat, too.
Read more: Vegan Marathoner To Run Length Of UK For His 60th Birthday
Farrell competed at USA Powerlifting’s California Summer Open on July 19, 2025, and lifted a total of nearly 237 pounds (107.5kg). She received a medal for winning her weight class.
Farrell is a Dominican Sister of San Rafael, a Catholic order founded in California in 1850. The sisters regularly carry out hospital, school, and social justice work in their community, and Farrell described them as “very ethical, moral, socially responsible people.”
Speaking to Plant Based News (PBN) founder Klaus Mitchell in July, Farrell said that she would “like to encourage” her fellow nuns – many of whom are older than her – to try strength and weight training. She highlighted how lifting has improved some of the “mechanical” issues she was experiencing previously by making her stronger and more flexible.
“I love deadlifting, I think that is great fun,” she continued. Speaking about the first time she ever tried the movement, she said: “As soon as I stood up with that thing in my hands, I felt like Wonder Woman. It was like ‘I’m standing here, picking up this heavy weight,’ and it just gave me a sense of strength that I hadn’t experienced before. So I was hooked.”
Farrell has been “steadily vegan” for around 12 years, but was first introduced to the concept when she read 1987’s Diet For A New America by John Robbins. “My history with it has been a little spotty, ” explained Farrell. She has been an on-and-off-again vegetarian since first reading the book, and highlighted the unique challenges of living within a community as a vegetarian.
Read more: ‘I’m Vegan And A Nationally Qualified Powerlifter – Here’s What I Eat In A Day’
Weightlifting, veganism, and health
A significant body of evidence indicates that strength training can help maximize physical health and mobility, particularly later in life. In January, a study reported that doing 90 minutes of strength training per week could help to reduce the body’s biological age by four years.
A separate study indicated that eating certain plant-based foods could also significantly slow down biological aging, reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as strokes, cancers, diabetes, and heart disease, which are major global causes of death.
While Farrell particularly highlighted the environmental and animal welfare reasons to “go plant-based,” she said that she has also noticed that the lifestyle has supported her health. At 72 years old, she does not have high blood pressure, diabetes, or very high cholesterol.
“Whether it’s on the vegan pathway or the weightlifting pathway, or our spiritual journeys, we make a mistake [and say] ‘oh I didn’t do it, I’m washed up, so I’m gonna go back to the way I was not doing things before.’ So never give up. Just [say], ‘I made that mistake,’ and pick up and go from there,” said Farrell.
