Records fall for Iceland’s vegan powerlifter
Hulda B Waage has broken and re-broken the national powerlifting records several times, and seems to have no plans to stop. She’s just competed in Iceland where she continued to set ambitious goals – and hit them.
“It went better than I imagined. Our goal was to qualify and has been this whole year” Hulda told Great Vegan Athletes. “But I thought I wouldn't because I haven't manage to do so those times I had the chance. I've been dealing with sciatica and piriformas syndrome so it has been more challenging to hit those weights.”
Hulda already held an impressive record for squat, and in squatting 230 kg she broke her own record with her first lift – only to rebreak it again with her second lift. She benched 140 kg and then deadlifted 180 kg. The total of 550kg added over 10kg to the national record – which she already held.
The vegan viking
In Iceland, a country known for its strength sports, Hulda’s impact has been remarkable. She finished the competition as the highest ranked woman, ranking third of all lifters using the Wilks system which enables comparison of competitors of different weights.
The 33 year old, who weighed in at 82.2 kg, became interested in veganism as a teenager before committing in 2014. She once told us “I would rather starve when travelling than eating something not vegan. But when travelling I always take something with me to make it easier. Like Black Bean Pasta, hummus or dried beans and nuts. I take protein powder with me and often dried wheatgrass and chlorella.”
While veganism is still rare among powerlifters in her country, she has come across vegans in other sports.
“There are vegans in football, handball and basketball, judo, running and so on. I've been asked by the athletes who are going vegan for advice.”
Preparing for the World Championships
Another achievement with her lifts was that she qualifies for the World Championships in November 2019.
“So I have a whole year to prepare. First of all I have a team working with me to get fixed. Working hard to get injury free. I'm going to get my nutrition and macro counting on point.
“And of course I will be training hard a competing both nationally and internationally to be fully content when I step on that big stage.”
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