Aging athletes such as LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lindsey Vonn are similar to racing cars 鈥� maintained by tinkering mechanics, data analysts, and shelves of replacement parts
鈥淚f you look at many elite athletes now, they have an army of supporting staff like a Formula 1 team,鈥� Hirofumi Tanaka, a Japan-born exercise physiologist at the University of Texas at Austin, told The Associated Press in an interview.
Los Angeles and World Cup just turned 40, and hits the Big-Four-Oh on Feb. 5. Add seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton, who turned 40 just a few weeks ago as he .
鈥淭hey have physical therapists, dietitians, massage therapists, strength coaches, and so on,鈥� Tanaka added. 鈥淲ith this holistic approach these elite athletes are helped to maintain their performance.鈥�
Others like , hockey's Jaromir Jagr, and pitcher Nolan Ryan retired at the top and well into their 40s. Martina Navratilova won the U.S. Open mixed doubles title in 2006 鈥� just a month short of turning 50.
Then there鈥檚 Gordie Howe, who finished his last National Hockey League season (1979-80) at 52. turns 58 in February and plans to play with fourth-tier club Suzuka 鈥� his 40th professional season.
And don't forget Hall of Famer Satchel Paige, who didn鈥檛 allow a run pitching three innings in a Major League game at 59 with the Kansas City Athletics in 1965.
This isn't exactly new, but it used to be rare. What's changed is the frequency, the array of aides supporting the stars, and the reality 鈥� the expectation 鈥� that athletes can compete longer and produce.
Watch any Grand Slam tennis tournament. The winner and losing finalist inevitably thank their 鈥渢eams鈥� as a half-dozen staffers rise to stadium applause.
Peak performance at the Olympics
Tanaka analyzed Olympic data starting with the first modern Games in 1896, and he's found the peak-performance age for men has remained stable 鈥� between 20-30 鈥� depending on the discipline.
But gradually all Olympians are getting older, and the statistics for women bear this out.
鈥淲omen's peak performance age was much younger 20 or 30 years ago,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut now that peak-performance age is becoming very similar to men."
Tanaka attributed this partly to cultural change in regard to marriage and child-bearing, which used to prompt women to drop out earlier from elite competition.
Of course, there are exceptions like Syrian Hend Zaza. At 12, she was the youngest in the Tokyo Olympics, delayed a year until 2021.
The best evidence that athletes are staying longer and maintaining performance is seen in so-called Masters athletes. There is no standard age as each sport sets different parameters.
鈥淥lder athlete are getting closer and closer to younger athletes,鈥� Tanaka said, speaking of both men and women. 鈥淎nd the older the Masters athlete is, the greater the improvement.鈥�
The case of LeBron James
James is reported to spend about $1.5 million annually on his body to stay fit, a number he neither confirms nor denies. He can afford it with an estimated worth of more than $1 billion.
James talks about staying on top in the Netflix series 鈥淪tarting 5.鈥� Maybe he's not getting better with age, but there is little drop-off.
鈥淚n some ways he鈥檚 a freak of nature,鈥� NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been around a lot of great players and he鈥檚 one of the hardest-working players I鈥檝e been around. I mean, he doesn鈥檛 take a day off. He seems to not take an afternoon off.
鈥淗e鈥檚 always working on some part of his body,鈥� Silver added. "You meet with him and he鈥檚 always soaking something or eating something or has some contraption attached to him.鈥�
Lindsey Vonn's comeback and her titanium knee
Vonn is making a comeback on the World Cup circuit after getting a . James, of course, has never been away after breaking into the NBA and 18.
Like James, Vonn talks about the benefits of ice baths and new recovery methods that were not around earlier in her career.
She said she gets inspiration from athletes like Brady, Hamilton and , who won her last Grand Slam singles title at 35 at the Australian Open in 2017. She was several weeks pregnant at the time, which she didn't announce until months later.
鈥淭om, Lewis, Serena. They鈥檝e all done it,鈥� Vonn said. 鈥淭he resources that athletes have now allow for a better recovery. So even though you鈥檙e older, you鈥檙e still recovering faster than I was when I was in my 20s."
Vonn told The AP recently in an interview in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, that she might be doing less to stay fit, or at least less to keep her knee functioning.
鈥淢y knee doesn鈥檛 bother me,鈥� she said. "I don鈥檛 wake up and have to do kneecap (exercises) for 15 minutes and do a 30-minute warmup just to walk out the door.
鈥淚 am doing a normal warmup like normal athletes do,鈥� she added. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to do anything different which takes a lot less energy, a lot less mental strain.鈥�
Now she simply focuses on maintaining the other parts of her body.
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Andrew Dampf in Rome contributed to this report.
Stephen Wade, The Associated Press
