Physiological Profile of a 59-Year-Old Male World Record Holder Marathoner

Purpose This study assessed the cardiorespiratory capacity and running economy (RE) of a 59-yr-old ex-Olympian athlete who ran a marathon in 2:30:15 in 2019. The athlete retired from running at 32 yr old (best marathon performance: 2:13:59) for a 16-yr period after his participation at the Olympics. Methods Heart rate (HR), oxygen uptake (VO2), ventilation (VE), blood lactate concentration (La), step frequency, and RE were measured during a treadmill-running test. Results His HRmax, VEmax, La-max, and VO2max were 165 bpm, 115 L center dot min(-1), 5.7 mmol center dot L-1, and 65.4 mL center dot kg(-1)center dot min(-1), respectively. At his marathon pace, his RE was 210 mL center dot kg(-1)center dot min(-1) with a step frequency of 199 +/- 0.55 s center dot min(-1), and his VO2 corresponded to 91% of his VO2max. Conclusion This study shows that despite a 16-yr break in training, this 59-yr-old former Olympian marathoner has managed to limit the age-related decline in performance to similar to 5% per decade. More generally, these data suggest that high-level endurance masters athletes can limit the age-related decline in endurance performance at least until the age of 60 yr and can preserve their ability to sustain high-intensity effort (>90% of VO2max) for long-duration (2-3 h) exercises.