Vegan Bobsledder Alexey Voyevoda Claims Gold in Sochi Olympics

Good news for all you plant-fueled Green Monsters out there! Vegan athlete Alexey Voyevoda, along with teammate Alexander Zubkov, has just claimed a gold medal for Russia in the two-man bobsleigh event at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

Coming so soon after vegan figure-skater Meagan Duhamel’s silver medal victory, it just goes to show that more and more athletes are figuring out that when trying to improve their performance, plant power is the way to go!

According a PETA blog post, Voyevoda first adopted a vegan diet because he wished to improve his athletic performance, but soon “came to have some ethical views about this diet. I love happy, living animals!”

When asked about the benefits he has noticed within himself since becoming vegan, he said, “There are so many. First, I no longer eat the suffering and pain of defenceless animals. Secondly, my body has become lighter, so to say ‘clearer.’ Thirdly, in my profession, flexibility and elasticity are incredibly important, and I increased both of these. And fourthly, now I almost never suffer from a cold or flu.”

With this latest victory, Voyevoda joins an ever-growing list of high-achieving vegan athletes, such as bodybuilder and boxer Amanda Riester, sprinter Carl Lewis, and weightlifter Patrik Baboumian, the “strongest man in Germany” and holder of several world records.

Carl Lewis has echoed Voyevoda’s assertion that meat is unnecessary for peak performance by saying, “I’ve found that a person does not need protein from meat to be a successful athlete. In fact, my best year of track competition was the first year I ate a vegan diet. Moreover, by continuing to eat a vegan diet, my weight is under control, I like the way I look (I know that sounds vain, but all of us want to like the way we look), I enjoy eating more, and I feel great.”

Well done, Alexey – and here’s hoping we see many more jaw-dropping performances by vegan athletes in the years ahead!