Aging and the retention of sport expertise

Expertise in spout deteriorates afterpeak performance and is susceptible to bath cognitive and physiological aspects of aging. Two studies examined th e relationship between age and running times iii the 200 400, 800 and 5,000 meter crack events, to determine whether age related decreases in performa nce are best represented as a linear or quadratic (rapidly increasing) rela tionship. Study I described the career training patterns of 40 male Master athletes who competed at the 1998 Canadian Masters Athletics Association ch ampionship. These athletes had trained and competed for over 20 years and c ontinue to train approximately 6.5 hr/wk. Their practices consist primarily of speed, power and endurance training and they continue to perform at rel atively high levels. Performance declines in the 200m with age were purely linear. Study 2 plotted the age and performance times in the same events fo r over 500 competitors around the world. These cross-sectional data showed vapid declines in performance (a quadratic relationship with age) particula rly after 60 yu. The increasingly vapid decline in performance seen with ag e may be significantly moderated by examining longitudinal versus cross-sec tional data. The implications for expertise research and "age-grading" of p erformance ave discussed.