Proving you’re never too old is Craig Ottersen, 55, who recently posted his fastest times in nearly 15 years as a masters swimmer. And, in Sacramento, a handful of masters-class athletes in swimming and running are logging better times now than 20 years ago. There’s a growing belief – and body of evidence – in sports medicine suggesting that perhaps it’s time to change the way we perceive “old” for athletes who are able to stay firm and formidable in middle age. The old paradigm of diminishing performance returns – that we lose 1 percent of our muscle mass every year after age 35, that our cells start losing the ability to process oxygen – might not hold anymore, what with advances in training techniques, sports medicine and motivation for aging athletes to keep it up. Hodding Carter, 45, a former NCAA champion swimmer turned writer turned swimmer again. Earlier this month, she won the Nike Women’s 5K race in Sacramento, besting close competitors a dozen years younger. read more
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