Exploring the physiological limits of aging: a case study of the male 50-km world record in the 80+ age category
The exceptional endurance performance of this master athlete was attributed to his well-preserved <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow><mml:mover><mml:mi>V</mml:mi> <mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> O<sub>2max</sub> (to our knowledge the highest recorded in octogenarians, equivalent to the 70th percentile for healthy males aged 20-30 years) and a high fractional utilization of <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow><mml:mover><mml:mi>V</mml:mi> <mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> O<sub>2max</sub>, together with a great ability to oxidize fats. Analyses on the limiting factors to <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow><mml:mover><mml:mi>V</mml:mi> <mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> O<sub>2max</sub> suggest that his exceptional performance was mostly due to the final steps of the oxygen cascade.
Authors
- Rebecca Re (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9521-8066)
- Ivan Baltasar‐Fernandez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3434-623X)
- Julián Alcázar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1090-5482)
- Simone Porcelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9494-0858)
- Massimiliano Ansaldo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2578-7393)
- Fabrizio Lauretani
- Iganacio Ara
- A. Botter
- P. L. Valenzuela
- M. Neri
- Á. Buendía-Romero
- A. M. Pilotto
- M. V. Franchi
- L. Giusti
- E. Higueras-Liébana
Institutions
- University of Parma (IT)
- University of Padua (IT)
- Politecnico di Torino (IT)
- Universidad de Alcalá (ES)
- University of Pavia (IT)
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ES)
- Servicio de Salud de Castilla La Mancha (ES)
- Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies (IT)
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable (ES)
- Policlinico San Matteo Fondazione (IT)
- Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IT)
- National Research Council (IT)
- University of Castilla-La Mancha (ES)
- Politecnico di Milano (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Physiology
- Published
- 2026-01-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2025.1735019
- Primary Topic
- Sports Performance and Training
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red Fragilidad y Envejecimiento Saludable
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- European Commission
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación
- European Social Fund