Swimmer Leianne Crittenden has recently racked up a national championship, world championship and world record, but she's not some promising college athlete.
"For an old lady I do OK," the 51-year-old attorney and masters swimmer says with a laugh. "When I go against 20-year-olds, sometimes I beat them. I think they're sort of surprised -- they say, 'Who is that woman with the wrinkles?' "
Crittenden isn't an anomaly. The notion that age offers only diminishing returns when it comes to fitness is being blown to bits -- particularly in endurance sports. Events that require pacing, strategy and mental fortitude are where many older athletes, especially women, excel.
Suzanna Bon, 43, was the top female finisher at this year's Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run, also setting a new course record. Forty-year-old swimmer Dara Torres may make history in the 2008 Olympics as the first swimmer older than 40 to compete in the Games. And Valmir Nunes, 43, won the Kiehl's Badwater Ultramarathon this year, a notoriously grueling 135-mile run from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney.
Exercise and sports psychology experts think there could be more to this success than physiology and good genes.
"I think there are a number of things that people do better as they get older," says Miriam Nelson, director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. "They're more disciplined, they train smarter, they're consistent with their training. Whatever sport you're in, you can be smarter from a competitive edge in terms of knowing yourself, how to pace yourself."
--
Edge in life lessons
In marathons, for example, younger runners in their 20s often sprint out of the starting line, whereas older runners stick to a more prudent strategy that doesn't burn them out before the finish line.
"Take a 30-year-old athlete who's vigorously active, at the top of their career," Nelson says. "If they continue what they're doing, they'll be able to hold onto that for some time." That also holds true for those who stay on a steady routine of moderate to vigorous exercise.
"A 75-year-old," Nelson says, "will be more like a sedentary 35-year-old if they're fit."
That's not to say biology doesn't play a role. Younger people generally have better coordination and balance, which allows them to do better than older people in sports such as gymnastics. As people age, reflexes slow, and proprioception skills -- sensing where one's body is -- diminish.
