Kristen Santos-Griswold Becomes the First American Woman to Win a World Cup 500m

Vegan speed skater Kristen Santos-Griswold has made US history. The 29-year-old won the 500m at the short track World Cup in Beijing on Saturday, December 9, the first American woman ever to win a World Cup race over the distance.

She did it with a slick move on the final lap. No US woman had won a World Cup 500m, the shortest distance in short track, since the circuit began more than 25 years ago, NBC Sports reports. Before the World Cup began, American Cathy Turner won the first two Olympic 500m titles, in 1992 and 1994.

It caps a big autumn. Last month Santos-Griswold won all three distances at the Four Continents Championships, where no US skater had ever won an individual gold before, Great Vegan Athletes reports.

The win in Beijing meant a lot. She made her Olympic debut in Beijing last year and finished fourth in the 1000m, just missing a medal. After the race she said:

Being here again and having fun out there was so important to me. That (Beijing 2022 heartache) was part of the discussion to whether I continued skating or not. Now it feels really good.

Santos-Griswold has never eaten meat. She was raised vegetarian and went fully vegan in 2018, and she says she felt the difference straight away:

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.

She is also clear that a vegan athlete gives nothing away. "I fully believe it's possible, if not, more beneficial to compete and succeed as a vegan," she said.

She joins a fine line of plant-powered winter athletes, including the vegan Olympian who won gold and rescued a dog in 2018. Last month Novak Djokovic won a record seventh ATP Finals, and vegan leg-spinner Adam Zampa took 23 wickets as Australia won the Cricket World Cup.

Powered by plants.