Other Old Olympians

re: Other Old Olympians

Ashers mom — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 21:14:50 GMT

Most distance runners have their career peak in their late 20's and into their mid 30's. It is not uncommon to see a 5000 or 10,000 runner switch to the marathon as they get older.

re: Other Old Olympians

Cassie — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:23:36 GMT

Constatina Tomescu-Dita is 38, has a teenaged son and won the Olympic Womens Marathon. She was not the oldest in the competition either. Several track and field athletes who won or received meals were over thirty.

re: Other Old Olympians

Brett Singer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:54:44 GMT

Thanks for your comment, Dana, and for pointing out more Olympians "of a certain age". I didn't mean to imply that fencing wasn't strenuous, just that it's worth noting that we're unlikely to see a 70 year old win the 400 meters. Although I imagine a lot of people twice my age could beat me in any race they choose. :-)

re: Other Old Olympians

Dana — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:31:59 GMT

As a former fencer, I'll affirm that fencing is physically strenuous, especially the foil fencing that Luan does. It's all about quad strength for moving and lunging, and having (at the Olympic level) supernaturally fast reaction times.

I'll also point out Jeannie Longo, the 49-year-old French road cyclist. Here's my take on a few of the above: