French strongwoman Angeline Berva has cemented her place in history after winning both the European Strongman Games and the Static Monsters World Championships 2025 — while also setting a new world record.
The 31-year-old – who lives in Ponchon, France – dominated the U82 division with an extraordinary display of power that saw her claim two of the sport’s biggest titles in a single season. At Static Monsters, she produced a record-breaking 301kg axle deadlift, more than 50kg heavier than her closest competitor, to set a new global best for women under 82kg.
Her performance at the European Strongman Games was no less impressive. Berva completed eight reps of a 210kg axle deadlift before launching five 12–15kg sandbags in under 15 seconds to secure the overall championship crown.
What makes Berva’s rise to the top even more remarkable is that she has achieved it entirely on a vegan diet.
“I’m 31 years old. I became vegan at 17 on a whim after watching L214 videos because I wanted to get involved in animal protection,” she told Plant Based News. “So I’ve built my entire sports career around being vegan.”
Berva has now been vegan for around 15 years, and she is passionate about proving that elite strength and a plant-based lifestyle are not mutually exclusive.
“I want to show that you don’t need to eat corpses to be strong,” she added. “And that’s why I was very happy to compete for Vegan Plant Built and show that you can win while being vegan.”
This latest triumph adds to an already glittering CV. Berva has been crowned France’s strongest woman five times and made history in 2024 by becoming the first French woman to complete a “car roll” — flipping a vehicle onto its roof from the side.
Her international career has also included podium finishes at the World’s Ultimate Strongman Championships U82 and the Classic Arnold European Championship Open in 2022. The following year, she joined Team Vegan Strong PlantBuilt at Mr America, where the collective earned an astonishing 48 gold medals.
Berva is part of a growing roster of vegan athletes competing at the very highest level through PlantBuilt. Fellow member Tom Butts, a competitive strongman, was recently crowned Natural World’s Strongest Man for the third year in a row.
“People think you need meat to be strong. I’m living proof that’s just not true,” Butts said. “Three world titles. All natural. All powered by plants. My performance shows what’s possible when performance meets compassion.”
Berva’s own favorite training challenge is the car deadlift, while her guilty pleasure is a vegan burger on cheat days. But her motivation comes not only from personal strength goals but also from her commitment to animal welfare.
The growth of athletes like Berva and Butts mirrors a growing body of research that undermines the myth that meat is essential for strength. A study published earlier this year found no difference in muscle fiber synthesis between omnivores and vegans, suggesting that a well-planned plant-based diet is just as effective for building muscle.
Another study went further, showing that vegans are more aligned with nutritional recommendations than their omnivorous counterparts.
With a European title, a world championship, and a new world record all in the same season, Berva’s achievements are sending shockwaves through strongwoman circles and beyond.
Her story is as much about advocacy as it is about athletic excellence — a message she hopes inspires the next generation of lifters.
As she put it simply: “I want to show that you can win while being vegan.”
Featured image credit: Instagram/officialstrongman_/angestrongwoman
