How athletes over forty can compete in the Olympics

Fifty-six year old Canadian rower Lesley Thompson-Willie is competed in her eighth Olympic Games at Rio 2016. And she's not the only middle-aged athlete at Rio this year.  

American cyclist Kristen Anderson won gold, the day before her 43rd birthday and 41 year-old Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina competed in her 7th games. 

So what's the secret to a long Olympic career?  Dr. Vonda Wright, orthopedic surgeon and Medical Director of the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Pittsburgh, says it's all about pushing your body beyond what you think are its limits. 

"People think that sports are the realm of youth and that at some arbitrary age our capacity for endurance ...just falls off the ledge," says Wright.

In many ways our bodies don't slow down till our seventies, according to Wright.

"We can maintain muscle mass much longer than we've actually believed, providing we don't become sedentary," she says.

So if you boil it down, the secret is staying active.

"The difference is profound between sedentary and active but not very difference at all between an active 40 year old and an active 70 year old," Wright says.

Older and wiser brains

Older athletes also have a more disciplined mind, which is an advantage over younger athletes, according to Wright.

"You can never underestimate the power of the wisdom of aging and what I mean by that is there is something about competing in the same disciplines, understanding your game … only comes with time," according to Wright.

That means an athlete competing in their first Olympics could be at a disadvantage up against someone who's competing in their fourth Games.

"Doing it repetitively over and over, which gives the older athletes a distinct advantage because they just feel their sport," says Wright.

Wright also says athletes who compete at the elite level later in life often have the advantage of not having sustained sports-related injuries in their youth.

Why older athletes are still rare

Older Olympians are still the exception. The average age at the 2012 Olympics was 26, according to the Guardian and out of 11,000 athletes just 187 where over 40. One reason for that is the personal lives of athletes.

"You know you can only keep the mental stamina to compete at that level and give up everything else in your life for so long. And sometimes athletes just decide OK I've had this fabulous career and now I'm going to get to live my real life," says Wright.

What about Bolt?

Could Usain Bolt maintain his title as the fastest man on earth in 2020 or even 2024?  

"You know I have watched every race that Usain Bolt has run in these Olympics and I have to tell you and I'm sorry if he's listening to this. It looks like he's just having a good time," says Wright, adding that Bolt doesn't exactly look exhausted after races.