Six ages of man as determined by athletic performance

It is submitted that a useful quantitative measure of aging is provided by measures of athletic performance. Whereas there are enormous differences in the athletic ability of individuals, any individual's performance may be related to the top performance by means of a ratio. This article describes the development of a model for the top performance and hence a model for the performance of any person at any age. Previous work has concentrated on the effect of aging on oxygen consumption. Because of the close relationship between oxygen consumption and athletic performance, compatibility with previous research is assured. The model shows that athletic performance undergoes significant changes at certain ages and that these change points break the aging process into six "ages of man." The model is however far from complete and needs to be based on more representative data. It is hoped that publication of the model will result in further studies in this field.