Via SELF Magazine
athlete
Via New Scientist
Ever wonder how your Grandpa would compare with an Olympian at their own sport?
Well, some scientists did, and they set up an experiment with seniors doing the same activities as Olympians and then measured the difference between the Olympian's record and the centenarian's. Specifically, Usain Bolt, who ran the 100-metre in 9.58 seconds...
...with, say, Donald Pellman, a competitor in the 100 to 104 age-group, who did the same event in 26.99 seconds, which was only a 64.5 percent decrease in performance compared with Bolt.
The centenarian athlete who showed the lowest percent decrease in performance between an Olympian and himself was Robert Marchand, a Frenchman, who holds the world record for his age group in 1-hour track cycling. He cycled only 50.6 percent slower than Bradly Wiggin's record.
After 40, our performance decreases by about 10 to 15 percent per decade usually, so you'd better start running now if you want to catch these Grandpas.
ABSOLUTE.LEGEND. For real tho, this is what extreme athleticism looks like, guys. The Eiffel Tower costume-rocking athlete has been identified as 70-year-old Paris-based runner Michel Bach. A friend of Bach's says he has participated in (and finished!) over 200 marathons across the globe in places like New York, Chicago, Paris, Los Angeles and Nepal.
