Vegan skates to three gold medals
Vegan skater Kristen Santos-Griswold takes three gold medals at the ISU Four Continents Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Canada.
The event pits the best skaters from across the globe against each other in various distances over the course of the weekend. Kristen competed in the 500 metres, 1000 metres and 1500 metres.
On Saturday, Kristen won gold in both the 500 metres and 1500 metres events. It was all over in the blink of an eye! She finished the 500 metres in 43 seconds and the 1500 metres in 2 minutes 26.2 seconds.
The question was, was she able to achieve three for three and win the 1000 metres race on Sunday as well? Absolutely! The American fought off tough competition from Korean and Canadian athletes but once again took the gold. This means she won every race she competed in and became the first US skater to win an individual gold medal at the Four Continents Championships. She was so on fire it was surprising the ice didn’t melt beneath her skates!
Kristen has been vegan since 2018, but was raised vegetarian so has never eaten meat.
“I’ve always loved animals so much and don’t want to contribute to anything that could be harmful to them. When I switched to a fully plant-based diet, I also began feeling just overall so much better and began skating better too… I fully believe it’s possible, if not, more beneficial to compete and succeed as a vegan.”
Content sourced and adapted with permission from Great Vegan Athletes.
About the author
Nicholas Hallows
Nicholas has been vegan since the early 2000s and worked for Viva! between 2017 and 2020 as a Senior Administrator and Web Content Assistant. He is a qualified teacher, specialising in Language and Literacy, and an accredited Proofreader and Editor. He is now a freelance writer covering topics including veganism, mindfulness and minimalism.
