Morgan Mitchell, Game Changers
Morgan Mitchell at the Muller Games in London, 2019, having just broken her PB in 800m with 2.00.06 and qualifying for the World Championships. Mitchell is wearing a custom designed black and white one-piece by her sponsor Adidas. Source: @MorganMitch
Morgan Mitchell is an Australian sprinter who went against the status-quo at the age of 19 when she became vegan, contrary to the belief we need meat to be fit and strong. Mitchell was recently featured on the hit Netflix Documentary ‘Game Changers’ and is amongst many other well-known successful athletes who are thriving on a plant-based lifestyle including Lewis Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Novak Djokovic.
Mitchell has also boldly changed her own game in terms of the distance she is competing in, switching from the 400m and 400m relay she had always trained in to 800m, despite pushback from Athletics Australian. At the Müller Games in London in 2019, Mitchell ran the 800m in 2:00.06, reaching the qualifying standard for the World Championships to represent Australia. Her goal is now to compete in the 800m race at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
"[Morgan Mitchell is] arguably everything we need in a modern role model - at times vulnerable, others outspoken, and as courageous as they come, Mitchell is rich in self-awareness and humility."
No goal is too big for Mitchell and once she sets a goal, she gets to work and makes it happen. At 23 years old, she was prepared to give up the Olympic dream she had in her grasp in the 400m, in the hopes of achieving something even greater in the 800m, arguing:
"It felt right to be a bit more assertive and take control - I think until then I’d been controlled by so many people for so long, and it wasn’t working."
Source: @MorganMitch
In a recent interview with Great Vegan Athletes, Mitchell spoke of her vegan diet:
"I am completely vegan! It’s an all or nothing kind of deal with me. After running PB after PB on my vegan diet I don’t think [my team] could argue at all. There is still banter sometimes but you just have to shake it off and laugh.”
This is personally an outlook I find inspiring. Being vegan is now easier than ever in terms of the alternative foods available that actually taste good, but there is still negativity associated with the term 'vegan', something I have found especially difficult when back home in North Yorkshire - a community of dairy and meat farmers.
In an interview with Live Kindly, Mitchell praised her vegan diet for an improved athletic performance:
“I recover a lot quicker than I used to. It’s easier to keep my weight down and I haven’t been sick at all!”
Mitchell stands by her values
“People often ask me, ‘What if the vegan diet fails and you start running slower?’, ‘Will you ever eat meat again?’ or ‘Don’t you miss meat?’. I just have to reiterate the fact that the life of an animal and the well-being of the environment means more to me than any amount of money or the career path I wish to take, because without them we wouldn’t have life. Sounds cliché and cheesy but it is true. That’s just the way I see it.”
She believes veganism has a future, but the public's perception will take time and patience to shift. There is a lot more to Morgan Mitchell than athletics and veganism - she also has a passion for fashion and has been featured in Vogue Australia twice. She also works and studies Business and Fashion Marketing full-time. On her bucket list is attending a Kanye Sunday Service, sharing a birthday party with Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto, being on the cover of Vogue and running a 1m58s 800m, which if she succeeds, she has vowed to add to her tattoo collection with a rose on her face!
EMILY BOIG
I am a 25 year old Northerner in a constant attempt to inflict some of my Northern tendencies on unsuspecting Londoners - striking up uncomfortable conversation, thanking bus drivers and smiling at people on the tube. I work in Children’s Services at a Local Authority and have recently become passionate about veganism and animal rights!