AGING

The process of progressive, irreversible change in the body that occurs during the passage of time, aging, after a certain stage, results in a decline in task-performance abilities and in mental agilitythough the latter may be offset by increased knowledge and experience. While often assumed to be an independent biochemical process, many believe aging is the product of an interaction with the social and physical environment and, as such, may vary across cultures and stages in history. In sports, aging defines a kind of parabola in which the competitor

rises to PEAK PERFORMANCE, usually somewhere between late teens and early thirties, then proceeds on a downward curve to the point where he or she can no longer perform at a competitive level. Degenerative changes guarantee that a sports performer cannot endure past a certain age: aging increases the probability that a competitor will lose with more frequency and more emphatically as his or her skill degrades and types of body cells die. There are huge variations between individuals and sports. Variations 1: In sport. Examples of the variability of aging abound.

At five, Steffi Graf had already played her first tournament and, by thirteen, she was playing professionally, winning all four Grand Slam single titles and an Olympic gold when aged nineteen. Fu Mingxia was twelve years old when she won the world diving championship in 1991. Nadia Comenici was fourteen when she was awarded six perfect scores of 10 for her winning performance on the asymmetric bars at the 1976 Olympics. The other famed gymnast of the period, Olga Korbut, was considered old when she won Olympic gold at the age of seventeen; by twenty-one, her career was over. Bjo¨rn Borg, Stefan Edberg and John McEnroe were all dominant tennis champions, but none won a Grand Slam title after the age of twenty-five. Wilfred Benitez had his first professional fight two months after his fifteenth birthday, won the first of three world titles at the age of seventeen, lost to Thomas Hearns when aged twenty-three and slid into obscurity thereafter. In contrast to athletes such as these who hit their peak early and, in

sporting terms, aged early, there are others who peaked much later. Archie Moore was a professional boxer for twenty-eight uninterrupted years and did not win a world title until he was thirty-nine; he was almost fifty when he had his last fight (which he won by a third round knockout). Miruts Yifter won two gold medals on the track at the 1980 summer Olympics at the age of forty-three. Forty-two-year-old

Yekaterina Podkopayeva was the world’s number-one-ranked female 1,500 meters runner in 1994. Linford Christie was an indifferent sprinter up to the age of twenty-five: from then until he was thirtyfive, he won eleven major championship golds and, in the process, became the oldest man (at thirty-three) to win an Olympic 100meters title. George Foreman turned professional in 1969 at the age of twenty, won a world title at twenty-three, another (after a ten-year retirement) at the age of forty-five and fought his final fight at the age of forty-nine. It has been estimated that an adult human being produces 3-4

million cells per second; these replace a similar number of cells that have died. Some cells, such as muscle and nerve cells, do not undergo cell division at all in the adult being, while others, such as the cells in bone marrow that produce red blood cells, may divide twice in each twenty-four-hour period. Obviously, the muscle and nerve-ending cells that are not replaced will cause an athlete to decline physically, which makes Foreman’s experience all the more remarkable. Never a mobile fighter, Foreman was virtually stationary in his

forties; his reactions were also relatively slow-no amount of training can improve reactions. But, he had compensating attributes, including punch power and a vast experience that enabled him to use timing, balance, and leverage to good effect. There is also evidence that some loss of sensitivity to pain comes with age, so Foreman may not have felt some of the body shots that would make younger men wince! Nevertheless, a sporting LIFE COURSE of almost thirty years is exceptional for boxing, as it is for most other sports, save those that are relatively sedate and carry little risk of serious INJURY. This is why Jack Nicklaus could tie for sixth place in the 1998 US Mastersahead of favorite Tiger Woods-when he was fifty-eight. Golf, like chess, bowls, snooker, and several other sports, is a sport

that requires only limited physical prowess, a degree of ‘‘mental agility,’’ but most importantly a great deal of judgment, anticipation, and tactical awareness. These are values that are acquired through experience. While ‘‘mental agility’’ as measured by intelligence tests, declines, experience increases, making the age of peak performance in these sports between thirty and fifty. In other sports, speed is a factor and peaks typically arrive much

earlier. John Elway’s Super Bowl XXXIII win with Denver Broncos, at the age of thirty-eight, is a vivid exception, especially in a sport where the RISK of injury is constant. Elway exhibited no evident slowdown in simple aimed movements, or sensorimotor tasks, that is, making decisions about whether to pass, handoff, scramble, and so

on (cognitive and intellectual rather than motor functions). Yet, research has shown that, while there is a loss of 10 percent in aimed movements between the ages of twenty and seventy, there is a loss of up to 25 percent in sensorimotor tasks, and this may increase to 50 percent on more complex tasks. While there are no definitive answers to why, the reason appears to be that the signals from the sense organs to the brain and from one part of the brain to another become weaker, while random neural activity in the brain tends to increase. The latter interferes with the former. This is why, in some sports in which speed is not a factor, older

players have no obvious disadvantage. The darts player usually takes time to settle, aim, and perfect the throw so it is accurate. A subtle, experienced player refuses to be rushed; there are no points to be gained for speed. Despite this, some loss of sensibility to the detection of fine movements of various joints will eventually hamper a darts player, as will a reduction of sensitivity to touch and vibration. Variations 2: Physical change. Aging brings with it a loss of MEMORY,

the reason being that the transfer of data from short to long-term storage is more troublesome and an amount of material is lost in the process. But material that has been safely stored is not forgotten more easily in later life; so, well-learned motor skills, including driving, playing bridge, or shooting, may be retained. New motor skills take longer to acquire. But, Formula 1 drivers do not usually drive into their forties. This is because, while they remain proficient in motor skill and judgment, their reactions may slow and their visual acuity may be reduced. There are other reasons, of course: Most have earned so much money by the time they reach their mid-thirties that they have no material need to continue in a sport where the risk of death is high. Barring fatal injury, retirement is inevitable, and this poses pro-

blems for some athletes; faced with more time and opportunities to pursue interests, but perhaps restricted by changing capacities and delayed-onset injuries (such as osteoarthritis), ex-athletes sometimes become disoriented and go through profound PERSONALITY changes. Such changes are probably compounded by contemporary cultural values: youth, vigor, and athleticism are idealized, and individuals who once embodied all these but have since lost them may suffer. On the surface, this may appear to be more poignant for women than men, though female athletes often maintain training and dietary regimens to stay in shape. No doubt, several join the hundreds of thousands of women who attempt to counteract the visible signs of aging with face-lifts (rhytidectomy) and other forms of cosmetic

surgery. There is some research that indicates that continuing sports activity and other forms of exercise in middle and old age has the potential to promote SELF-EFFICACY, though no causal relationship between the two has been demonstrated. A COMEBACK is always an option for an athlete who cannot cope without actual COMPETITION. Variations 3: CULTURE. Aging certainly has many features of a uni-

versal process, though cultural variations alert us to the probability that types of diet and nutrition, standards of health care and sanitation and other environmental conditions can affect the pace at which aging proceeds. There are other cultural factors to consider, including the growth of an industry devoted to the postponement of aging (health clubs, health foods, surgery, and so on). In cultures that venerate the aged, such factors may not be present,

but, in those that elevate youth, the idea of aging is unlikely to be welcomed, and there will be strenuous efforts at counteracting it. While many opt for cosmetic surgery, a great many others extend, revive, or start activities. D. S. Tunstall Pedsoe records how septuagenarians have climbed Mount Everest and have swum the English Channel. City marathons, including the London and New York events regularly attract runners over eighty, and a ninety-two-year-old marathoner has completed the London course in 6 hours 7 minutes. Tunstall Pedsoe issues the reminder that ‘‘death rates during sports

participation increase dramatically with age as the incidence of coronary heart disease increases,’’ though ‘‘the benefits of exercise even for the coronary prone are more generally appreciated.’’ The benefits of exercise for the elderly are not confined to cor-

onary functions, as the research of, among others, Alessandra de Carvalho Bastone and Wilson Jacob Filho suggests. Involvement in an exercise program produced improvement in the participants’ lower-limb function, gait velocity, joint mobility, and strength. It also improved depression symptoms and overall mental state, adding to the conclusion that physical activity in later life has benefits in both physical fitness and cognitive function, though not in a straightforward CAUSE-effect relationship. Health characteristics and social and environmental circumstances also enter the relationship.