Sixty-three years of competitive sport activity. Case study

A very rare case of a 79-year-old long-distance runner with competitive sport experience of more than sixty-three years is being evaluated. His health status is excellent and no indication of chronic disease is evident. Data from his evaluation have shown that, morphologically and functionally, he is closer to elite runners almost 50 years younger, than other master runners of about the same age. His body fatness, VO2max, his best reaction time and his highest recent speed of movement are: 10%, 40.6 ml/kg/min-1, 196 ms, and 15.73 km/h-1, respectively. Although his muscular strength and joint flexibility are satisfactory for his age, they are much lower in comparison to elite runners. The conclusion drawn is that his almost lifelong competitive athletic activity is at the root of his superb morphological and neuromotor responsiveness, his excellent cardiovascular and respiratory systems and his ideal biochemical profile.