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Chapter IV
VEGETARIAN SPORTS PERSONALITIES & ANIMAL
KINGDOM
a)
Vegetarian Sports Personalities
At one point of time, it was widely believed that vegetarian diet is not suitable for sportsmen. However it is now well established that a balanced vegetarian diet provides the required proteins, carbohydrates and required nutrition and is less hazardous for the health, more and more sportsmen and women have switched over to vegetarianism and the list includes several
world record holding sportsmen some of whom are even vegans who do not even consume dairy products i.e. milk, cheese etc. Martina Navratilova, the famous tennis ace, joined the international animal rights organization called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as a result of which she took to vegetarianism. Boris Becker, who has to his credit several tennis titles including the Wimbledon, is a vegetarian. Chris Campbell, who was the world wrestling champion in 1981, is a vegetarian. We might not generally expect to find a vegetarian in world championship body-building competitions. But Andreas Cahling, the Swedish body builder who won the 1980 Mr. International title, is a vegetarian, and has been for over ten years in the highest level international competitions. Former champion body builder, Bill Pearl is also a vegetarian.
