Greater progression of athletic performance in older Masters athletes.

BACKGROUND: The number of new world records has decreased substantially in most athletic events in recent years. There has been enormous growth in participation at Masters events, and older athletes have been competing at the highest levels with much younger athletes. However, the progression of athletic performance over time has not been well investigated in Masters athletes.

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: To determine whether older Masters athletes improved athletic performance over time, running and swimming times from 1975 to 2013 were collected biennially. The running event of 100 m was chosen specifically, as it is one of the most popular track and field events that would have attracted a large number of competitors. The middle distance of 400 m as well as 100 m freestyle swimming were also examined to determine whether the results in 100 m sprint event can be confirmed in other events.

RESULTS: The improvements in fastest 100 m running times over time were not significant. However, all the Masters age-group records improved significantly over time. The slopes of improvements over the years were progressively greater at older age groups with the greatest progression observed at oldest age groups of 75-79 years examined. The general trends were similar for 400 m middle-distance running and 100 m freestyle swimming.

CONCLUSIONS: While younger athletes' performance has stagnated, Masters athletes improved their athletic performance significantly and progressively over the years. The magnitude of improvements was greater in older age groups gradually closing the gap in athletic performance between younger and older participants.