Swimming in the ice or across channels or in marathon swims requires stamina and strength. In professional marathon swims or in in mass open water competitions, add speed to that equation. With the sport of open water swimming skewing older than all the other aquatic disciplines (compared to pool swimming, water polo, diving and artistic swimming), we researched how speed, stamina and strength decrease as we age – at least among the elite swimmers.

On March 18th, we looked at how much of speed and stamina is lost as the fastest competitive swimmers and runners age [see below]. In that study, we compared how much speed and stamina is lost among well-trained swimmers in a 50m outdoor pool versus how much speed and strength is lost among elite runners on an outdoor track as they age.

• 400 meter freestyle and 1500 meter freestyle in a 50m pool
• 1500 meter run and 10,000 meter run on an outdoor track

After listening to Dr. Peter Attia, a former competitive masters swimmer and competitive cyclist talk about athleticism as people ago (listen here), we noted that both speed and strength “fall off a cliff” in our 70’s.

The swimming versus running speed and stamina findings are noted below.

But today we want to explore the degree of strength degradation in swimming and track & field events as we age.  We selected the following four events that require a fair amount of strength:

• 200m butterfly in a 50m long course pool
• 400m individual medley in a 50m long course pool
• shot put, outdoors
• discus throw, outdoors

Similar to our speed and stamina study, we compared the American record for both men and women in each event with the respective masters records in each 5-year age category.

The American records are represented at 0 on the y axis below. Each graph shows the different masters age group records along the x axis. As the record holders age in each age group, the graphs clearly show how the times of the aging swimmers get slower and the distances of the aging shot putters and discus throwers gets shorter.

There is a gradual degradation as they age, until the 70’s when the degradation relatively increases. This degradation seems to be consistent with the decrease in speed and stamina in our previous study.

There are some interestin points:

• Female swimmers in the 400m individual medley seem to be relatively quite close to the overall American record until the mid-60’s.
• Male and female swimmers are quite consistent in the 200m butterfly across all age groups.
• The discuss throwers see the greatest differentiation among male and female masters age group record holders after the age of 40.
• The shot putters see a significant difference among male and female masters age group record holders after the age of 60.

Loss of Swimming Speed versus Running Speed as Athletes Age

On March 18th, we looked at how much of speed and stamina is lost as the fastest competitive swimmers and runners age. We compared how much speed and stamina is lost among well-trained swimmers in a pool and runners on a track as they age.

We considered four different events in both genders from the ages of 18 to those over 100 years:

• 400 meter freestyle in a 50m pool
• 1500 meter freestyle in a 50m pool
• 1500 meter run on an outdoor track
• 10,000 meter run on an outdoor track

We compared the current overall American record to the records in each recognized masters age division, in both genders. In swimming and running, the recognized age divisions are as follows:

• Swimming: 18-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85-89, 90-94, 95-99, 100+
• Running: 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79, 80-84, 85-89, 90-94, 95-99, 100+

The results are plotted below. The American record is plotted on the x axis at 0. As the masters records generally get slower as the athletes age along the x axis. This slowing is represented by the dots that slope upwards.

From the graphs that we produced by masters swimmer Melodee Liegl, the findings are interesting:

• as the fastest swimmers and fastest runners age, they slow down at relatively steady percentage
• it appears that swimmers are able to hold slightly closer to the American record as they age compared to runners
• it appears that swimmers are able to hold slightly closer to the American record as they age at 1500m compared to 400m
• at age 75, female swimmers suddenly get slower by a significant relative degree, both at 400 meters and 1500 meters
• at age 80, female runners suddenly get slower by a significant relative degree, both at 1500 meters and 10,000 meters

Additionally, analyses will be conducted in the future. We want to look at the following:

• differences in swimming age records in freestyle compared to butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and individual medley
• differences in running age records comparing the 100 meter dash versus the 42 km marathon
• comparing the 25th ranked swimmer and runner in each age group relative to the American record holder as all these record holders are outliers. It will be interesting to see if there are any differences between the fastest and the 25th fastest athletes in both sports and distances.

What Does The Future Hold?

While ambitious athletes (swimmers or runners or others) may look at the raw data above and think that their relative athleticism may significantly decrease in their 70’s, this may not be necessarily true.

If swimmers think back to Doc Counsilman who famously swam across the English Channel at the age of 58 in 1979 in a time of 13 hours 7 minutes.

https://youtu.be/vy1tIYkbGCk

Counsilman’s well-documented effort made headlines and brought channel swimming to the attention of the world. His swim was subject of a documentary, Doc: The Oldest Man in the Sea in 1980 (watch here). He received the O’Clee Jubilee Cup for his effort from the Channel Swimming Association and was inducted as an Honor Swimmer in the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame in 1981.

But a 58-year-old English Channel swimmer in contemporary times is not unusual – and the number of 50- and 60-year-old swimmers around the world are increasing. In fact, there are contemporaries of Counsilman who crossed the English Channel at faster times than Counsilman’s 1979 crossing:

• 73-year-old Otto Thaning in 12 hours 52 minutes
• 70-year-old Cyril Baldock in 12 hours 45 minutes
• 63-year-old Veljko Rogošić swam in 11 hours 27 minutes
• 63-year-old Jim Clifford in 10 hours 3 minutes
• 63-year-old Denis Crean in 12 hours 19 minutes
• 61-year-old Guy Davis in 10 hours 50 minutes
• 59-year-old Eduardo Porset Liantada in 10 hours 43 minutes
• 59-year-old Martha Wood in 12 hours 25 minutes
• 58-year-old Barbara Held in 12 hours 10 minutes
• 57-year-old Carol Sing in 12 hours 32 minutes
• 57-year-old Maureen Montgomery in 12 hours 30 minutes

These swimmers and other swimmers like them give hints what may be possible – and perhaps probable – as 70- and 80-year-olds with the proper training, muscle mass, and nutrition can do as we age.

If we look at the combined gradual loss of speed, stamina, and strength, especially as we reach our 70’s, it may seem inevitable. But is it? What can be done as we age and we want to maintain our speed, stamina, and strength as best we can? Are there solutions?

Options to Maintaining Strength

• Weightlifting and resistance training
• Isometric exercises and core work
• Walking, hiking, and rucking like Dr. Peter Attia
• Gardening and farming like Jim Clifford
• Bee-keeping, snow-plowing, and turning maple sap into syrup like Pat Gallant-Charette (read about her unusual off-season training here)
• Swimming, of course, is great, especially with fast-paced interval training and stroke work (including butterfly and individual medley) as well as using hand paddles and fins like Jim McConica

Another Possible Solution

KAATSU, a convenient, easy-to-do blood flow optimization modality, is another alternative. The modality was developed in Japan to help the rapidly aging Japanese population of septuagenarians, octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians maintain muscle mass and avoid sarcopenia to the age of 104 years.

Dr. Peter Attia, a physician, author, and podcaster who has twice crossed the Catalina Channel in California and the Maui Channel in Hawaii, is a highly acclaimed longevity expert and a regular KAATSU user. He wrote an article entitled Why do we lose muscle strength with age? He summarized recent research and explains that sarcopenia is due to two major factors:

• muscle quality
• neuromuscular innervation

Sarcopenia is an age-related, involuntary loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. Beginning as early as the fourth decade of life, evidence suggests that skeletal muscle mass and skeletal muscle strength decline in a linear fashion, with up to 50% of mass being lost by the eighth decade of life.

Because Dr. Attia understands that muscle mass and strength naturally decrease as humans age, and the loss of both muscle mass and muscle strength accelerates with more years on the planet (as illustrated by the graphs above), he advocates the importance of muscle strength as a determining factor for healthy longevity. He goes into some depth about the reasons here.

Dr. Yoshiaki Sato, the inventor of KAATSU, has also long understood these facts. But one of the reasons why the 76-year-old Tokyo native has dedicated his life to KAATSU is because he believes sarcopenia does not necessarily have to lead to such a dramatic decline in muscle mass and muscle strength. Both he and his lifelong users of KAATSU are proving this point.

Dr. Sato [shown above] explains how he uses KAATSU equipment, “I temporarily, repeatedly, briefly, gently, and safely engorge the vascular tissue of my arms and legs in blood throughout the day using the KAATSU portable equipment. Because KAATSU is part of my lifestyle and I do it daily during the course of my work day, it is a natural habitual act that is easy to do. I keep my KAATSU devices right next to where I work – or if I travel, I take my KAATSU with me.

Doing gentle KAATSU, either during or after sitting in meetings and throughout the day is critically important to maintain my maximum vascular elasticity and regular secretion of hormones. Additionally, my primary workout of the day is in the evening, after dinner and before bed, taking a bath, and before a cold plunge. Because I do earlier KAATSU sessions during the day, then by the time I do my main workout at night, my vascular tissue is optimally prepared for a great workout.”

Dr. Attia has described, “The more a muscle is used, the more neuromotor connections it develops, which leads to improved contractile strength.”

While it does not appear that Dr. Sato is working out when he is sitting in a meeting doing KAATSU, his body and brain treat the repeated engorgement and release of blood in his arm and leg vascular tissue are exercise at the cellular level.

As Dr. Attia advocates, “Keep exercising throughout life. It is unequivocally the very best weapon in our arsenal when it comes to fending off a deterioration in health and extending lifespan.”

https://youtu.be/qutewA48Nkg

Raw Data

The graphs above used the raw data of American records and masters age group records listed below:

Swimming Records (freestyle, long-course meters) – Women’s Age Divisions 400 meters

• American women’s record: 3:56.46
• 19-24 women’s record: 4:16.72
• 25-29 women’s record: 4:13.03
• 30-34 women’s record: 4:17.52
• 35-39 women’s record: 4:16.19
• 40-44 women’s record: 4:22.87
• 45-49 women’s record: 4:30.64
• 50-54 women’s record: 4:40.66
• 55-59 women’s record: 4:46.49
• 60-64 women’s record: 4:59.82
• 65-69 women’s record: 5:12.80
• 70-74 women’s record: 5:21.19
• 75-79 women’s record: 6:27.04
• 80-84 women’s record: 7:24.53
• 85-89 women’s record: 8:06.04
• 90-94 women’s record: 9:04.93
• 95-99 women’s record: 10:12.49
• 100+ women’s record: —

Swimming Records (freestyle, long-course meters) – Women’s Age Divisions 1500 meters

• American women’s record: 15:20.48
• 19-24 women’s record: 17:22.39
• 25-29 women’s record: 16:39.77
• 30-34 women’s record: 17:07.54
• 35-39 women’s record: 17:17.22
• 40-44 women’s record: 17:17.22
• 45-49 women’s record: 17:26.47
• 50-54 women’s record: 18:15.80
• 55-59 women’s record: 18:36.30
• 60-64 women’s record: 19:23.70
• 65-69 women’s record: 20:41.53
• 70-74 women’s record: 21:02.79
• 75-79 women’s record: 26:00.10
• 80-84 women’s record: 29:04.81
• 85-89 women’s record: 31:29.52
• 90-94 women’s record: 36:02.20
• 95-99 women’s record: 41:39.68
• 100+ women’s record: —

Swimming Records (freestyle, long-course meters) – Men’s Age Divisions 400 meters

• American men’s record: 3:42.78
• 19-24 men’s record: 4:04.68
• 25-29 men’s record: 3:55.01
• 30-34 men’s record: 3:58.12
• 35-39 men’s record: 4:07.64
• 40-44 men’s record: 4:06.74
• 45-49 men’s record: 4:09.20
• 50-54 men’s record: 4:15.93
• 55-59 men’s record: 4:22.49
• 60-64 men’s record: 4:35.36
• 65-69 men’s record: 4:37.70
• 70-74 men’s record: 4:57.84
• 75-79 men’s record: 5:17.77
• 80-84 men’s record: 5:45.21
• 85-89 men’s record: 6:38.87
• 90-94 men’s record: 8:01.57
• 95-99 men’s record: 8:43.18
• 100+ men’s record: 10:55.25

Swimming (freestyle, long-course meters) – Men’s Age Divisions 1500 meters

• American men’s record: 14:31.59
• 19-24 men’s record: 16:59.40
• 25-29 men’s record: 15:49.04
• 30-34 men’s record: 15:52.24
• 35-39 men’s record: 16:32.72
• 40-44 men’s record: 16:36.91
• 45-49 men’s record: 16:38.81
• 50-54 men’s record: 17:08.33
• 55-59 men’s record: 17:22.61
• 60-64 men’s record: 17:55.91
• 65-69 men’s record: 19:28.61
• 70-74 men’s record: 20:26.12
• 75-79 men’s record: 21:02.80
• 80-84 men’s record: 22:16.90
• 85-89 men’s record: 26:18.37
• 90-94 men’s record: 31:12.82
• 95-99 men’s record: 33:39.77
• 100+ men’s record: 42:27.06

Running (outdoor track) – Women’s Age Divisions 1500 meters

• American women’s record: 3:54.99
• 19-24 women’s record: —
• 25-29 women’s record: —
• 30-34 women’s record: —
• 35-39 women’s record: 4:00.35
• 40-44 women’s record: 4:10.16
• 45-49 women’s record: 4:29.61
• 50-54 women’s record: 4:41.21
• 55-59 women’s record: 4:47.62
• 60-64 women’s record: 5:02.38
• 65-69 women’s record: 5:25.65
• 70-74 women’s record: 5:59.18
• 75-79 women’s record: 6:14.88
• 80-84 women’s record: 7:39.05
• 85-89 women’s record: 10:55.01
• 90-94 women’s record: 11:30.62
• 95-99 women’s record: 20:27.85
• 100+ women’s record: —

Running (outdoor track) – Women’s Age Divisions 10,000 meters

• American women’s record: 30:03.82
• 19-24 women’s record: —
• 25-29 women’s record: —
• 30-34 women’s record: —
• 35-39 women’s record: 31:28.92
• 40-44 women’s record: 34:53.32
• 45-49 women’s record: 34:44.78
• 50-54 women’s record: 37:04.87
• 55-59 women’s record: 37:40.99
• 60-64 women’s record: 41:10.57
• 65-69 women’s record: 42:34.97
• 70-74 women’s record: 46:38.50
• 75-79 women’s record: 46:53.07
• 80-84 women’s record: 1:01:22.26
• 85-89 women’s record: 1:36:39.48
• 90-94 women’s record: —
• 95-99 women’s record: —
• 100+ women’s record: —

Running (outdoor track) – Men’s Age Divisions 1500 meters

• American men’s record: 3:27.40
• 19-24 men’s record: —
• 25-29 men’s record: —
• 30-34 men’s record: —
• 35-39 men’s record: 3:31.51
• 40-44 men’s record: 3:41.87
• 45-49 men’s record: 3:55.09
• 50-54 men’s record: 4:01.77
• 55-59 men’s record: 4:17.80
• 60-64 men’s record: 4:24.00
• 65-69 men’s record: 4:46.05
• 70-74 men’s record: 5:04.87
• 75-79 men’s record: 5:19.87
• 80-84 men’s record: 6:04.28
• 85-89 men’s record: 7:19.51
• 90-94 men’s record: 8:57.61
• 95-99 men’s record: 12:16.93
• 100+ men’s record: —

Running (outdoor track) – Men’s Age Divisions 10,000 meters

• American men’s record: 26:33.84
• 19-24 men’s record: —
• 25-29 men’s record: —
• 30-34 men’s record: —
• 35-39 men’s record: 27:58.88
• 40-44 men’s record: 27:49.35
• 45-49 men’s record: 29:44.87
• 50-54 men’s record: 30:48.87
• 55-59 men’s record: 33:00.66
• 60-64 men’s record: 34:30.44
• 65-69 men’s record: 37:16.46
• 70-74 men’s record: 38:23.69
• 75-79 men’s record: 43:39.40
• 80-84 men’s record: 44:29.26
• 85-89 men’s record: 54:19.28
• 90-94 men’s record: 1:11:40.78
• 95-99 men’s record: —
• 100+ men’s record: —

Swimming (butterfly, long-course meters) – Men’s Age Divisions 200 meters

• American men’s record: 1:51.51
• 19-24 men’s record: 1:55.09
• 25-29 men’s record: 1:55.81
• 30-34 men’s record: 2:03.76
• 35-39 men’s record: 2:04.76
• 40-44 men’s record: 2:05.55
• 45-49 men’s record: 2:04.07
• 50-54 men’s record: 2:13.80
• 55-59 men’s record: 2:18.37
• 60-64 men’s record: 2:29.05
• 65-69 men’s record: 2:33.40
• 70-74 men’s record: 2:47.17
• 75-79 men’s record: 3:08.54
• 80-84 men’s record: 3:54.46
• 85-89 men’s record: 4:15.86
• 90-94 men’s record: 5:19.18
• 95-99 men’s record: 11:47.68
• 100+ men’s record: —

Swimming (butterfly, long-course meters) – Women’s Age Divisions 200 meters

• American women’s record: 2:03.87
• 19-24 women’s record: 2:12.75
• 25-29 women’s record: 2:10.83
• 30-34 women’s record: 2:15.65
• 35-39 women’s record: 2:20.21
• 40-44 women’s record: 2:24.77
• 45-49 women’s record: 2:24.34
• 50-54 women’s record: 2:31.55
• 55-59 women’s record: 2:41.51
• 60-64 women’s record: 2:41.03
• 65-69 women’s record: 2:57.26
• 70-74 women’s record: 3:12.76
• 75-79 women’s record: 4:00.75
• 80-84 women’s record: 4:34.86
• 85-89 women’s record: 5:07.64
• 90-94 women’s record: —
• 95-99 women’s record: —
• 100+ women’s record: —

Swimming (individual medley, long-course meters) – Men’s Age Divisions 400 meters IM

• American men’s record: 4:03.84
• 19-24 men’s record: 4:44.53
• 25-29 men’s record: 4:20.83
• 30-34 men’s record: 4:20.81
• 35-39 men’s record: 4:34.10
• 40-44 men’s record: 4:47.82
• 45-49 men’s record: 4:46.41
• 50-54 men’s record: 4:45.61
• 55-59 men’s record: 5:04.07
• 60-64 men’s record: 5:08.20
• 65-69 men’s record: 5:13.36
• 70-74 men’s record: 5:55.97
• 75-79 men’s record: 6:34.91
• 80-84 men’s record: 7:17.96
• 85-89 men’s record: 8:21.81
• 90-94 men’s record: 9:56.43
• 95-99 men’s record: 17:29.20
• 100+ men’s record: —

Swimming (individual medley, long-course meters) – Women’s Age Divisions 400 meters IM

• American women’s record: 4:31.12
• 19-24 women’s record: 5:04.81
• 25-29 women’s record: 5:06.34
• 30-34 women’s record: 4:47.06
• 35-39 women’s record: 5:02.67
• 40-44 women’s record: 5:09.83
• 45-49 women’s record: 5:13.85
• 50-54 women’s record: 5:20.68
• 55-59 women’s record: 5:21.40
• 60-64 women’s record: 5:30.07
• 65-69 women’s record: 6:14.58
• 70-74 women’s record: 6:57.34
• 75-79 women’s record: 7:47.11
• 80-84 women’s record: 9:12.87
• 85-89 women’s record: 10:17.34
• 90-94 women’s record: —
• 95-99 women’s record: —
• 100+ women’s record: —

Shot Put (outdoor in meters) – Men’s Age Divisions

• American men’s record: 23.56
• 19-24 men’s record: —
• 25-29 men’s record: —
• 30-34 men’s record: —
• 35-39 men’s record: 22.19
• 40-44 men’s record: 21.41
• 45-49 men’s record: 16.83
• 50-54 men’s record: 17.08
• 55-59 men’s record: 16.54
• 60-64 men’s record: 17.38
• 65-69 men’s record: 16.66
• 70-74 men’s record: 16.33
• 75-79 men’s record: 13.41
• 80-84 men’s record: 13.82
• 85-89 men’s record: 11.48
• 90-94 men’s record: 9.58
• 95-99 men’s record: 8.21
• 100+ men’s record: 6.56

Shot Put (outdoor in meters) – Women’s Age Divisions

• American women’s record: 20.76
• 19-24 women’s record: —
• 25-29 women’s record: —
• 30-34 women’s record: —
• 35-39 women’s record: 17.72
• 40-44 women’s record: 15.09
• 45-49 women’s record: 14.50
• 50-54 women’s record: 14.65
• 55-59 women’s record: 13.27
• 60-64 women’s record: 12.58
• 65-69 women’s record: 11.31
• 70-74 women’s record: 10.27
• 75-79 women’s record: 9.26
• 80-84 women’s record: 9.41
• 85-89 women’s record: 7.72
• 90-94 women’s record: 5.73
• 95-99 women’s record: 4.09
• 100+ women’s record: 2.77

Discus Throw (outdoor in meters) – Men’s Age Divisions

• American men’s record: 72.34
• 19-24 men’s record: —
• 25-29 men’s record: —
• 30-34 men’s record: —
• 35-39 men’s record: 71.24
• 40-44 men’s record: 69.46
• 45-49 men’s record: 66.12
• 50-54 men’s record: 62.74
• 55-59 men’s record: 55.61
• 60-64 men’s record: 57.60
• 65-69 men’s record: 54.99
• 70-74 men’s record: 50.27
• 75-79 men’s record: 43.83
• 80-84 men’s record: 38.42
• 85-89 men’s record: 30.81
• 90-94 men’s record: 28.49
• 95-99 men’s record: 20.35
• 100+ men’s record: 14.86

Discus Throw (outdoor, meters) – Women’s Age Divisions

• American women’s record: 71.46
• 19-24 women’s record: —
• 25-29 women’s record: —
• 30-34 women’s record: —
• 35-39 women’s record: 69.17
• 40-44 women’s record: 60.94
• 45-49 women’s record: 50.85
• 50-54 women’s record: 45.67
• 55-59 women’s record: 40.39
• 60-64 women’s record: 40.76
• 65-69 women’s record: 35.15
• 70-74 women’s record: 29.07
• 75-79 women’s record: 25.02
• 80-84 women’s record: 21.14
• 85-89 women’s record: 16.82
• 90-94 women’s record: 14.42
• 95-99 women’s record: 10.44
• 100+ women’s record: —

Graphics created by Melodee Liegl.

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