I was at the Red Bull Racing air race at Ascot last weekend, and it was very noticeable that the top pilots were all quite old - late 40s through early 60s. Are there any other such sports?
I believe equestrianism is another sport where older people can compete, but I don’t know if they dominate.
In cycling you’re considered in your prime in your thirties. 25 or 26 year olds are considered “up and coming”.
I believe the America’s Cup (sailing) tends to favor experience over physical ability.
Bowling, darts, shuffleboard, napping.
All of the senior leagues.
Prime is typically 27-35. Results start to drop off after that.
Lawn-yelling.
Distance runners, and especially ultramarathoners, skew older when compared to peak physical ability. Physical ability starts to drop after ~24 years old, but 5-10K runners are usually best in their late 20s and marathoners best after 30. The best 100K ultramarathon performance is typically in the 35-40 year old range.
A recent column by Joe Posnanski put it well:
***“Athletes ALWAYS age faster than you think they do.” ***
Even in sports where people assume old guys can stay competitive a long time, they generally DON’T.
What about, say, golf? It’s true there, too. Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson were the best golfers in the world once, but neither ever won a major after the age of 34.
Most top-level curling skips are forty-ish. The job requires tons of experience to do well, and the physical demands aren’t excessive.
Ken Climo, the current Disc Golf world champion is 47 years old.
I was watching truck racing on TV recently and it seems there are a fair few older drivers there.
Alan Francis, 45, has dominated horseshoe pitching for a long time. He has won 20 world championships:
What do you mean by “older”?
Lets presume over 30, then in cricket the ages between 30-35 are considered the peak of a batsmans career.
In soccer, the best Goalkeepers are often in their thirties.
Golf and auto racing seem to be sports where the competitors can stay on top into their 40s.
“Sport” may be questionable, but some of the highest paid professional wrestlers in the world in the 90s were well into their 40s, including Hall and Nash, Brett Hart, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and Macho Man; Im fairly certain in the 60s through early 80s this was the case as well. Verne Gagne, Antonio Inoki, Lou Thesz, El Santo are just a few examples of performers pulling in the big bucks into their 50s.
No, golf is NOT a sport in which players stay on top in their 40s. Older players occasionally have great days, even great weekends, but surprisingly few majors are won by guys in their 40s. As I noted earlier, neither Arnold Palmer nor Tom Watson ever won a major after the age of 34.
What’s surprising is that elite golfers can usually still drive very well in their 40s and 50s. It’s the SHORT game that goes to hell. That’s why it drives me nuts when I hear people say things like, “Tiger can still be #1- he just has to start putting better.” Sigh… don’t you get it? Putting is the first thing to go, when a golfer starts getting old.
Actually Tiger’s putting, at least putts under 10 feet is still outstanding and Davis Love III age 51 won a PGA tournament on Sunday. He may well have been the oldest competitor.
As astorian said, “Older players occasionally have great days, even great weekends”. Yes, Love won yesterday, but it was his first PGA victory in 7 years, and only his third since 2003 (when he was still under age 40).
Which ties into the cycling. Endurance sports can favour older people.
Valentino Rossi at 36 is still doing very well in MotoGP, but I think he is the exception rather than the rule, and it only takes one big accident to finish your career.
It’s not questionable, professional wrestling is not a sport. They aren’t competing, so while their physical attributes might be impressive it says nothing about domination. Might as well throw out actors. I mean how old was Stallone in the most recent Rocky?