A few days ago a ran across an article entitled "The world's fastest (old) man". It was an article on master sprinter Charles Allie who holds the world master records of 200 m and 400 M. His times are phenomenal: 25.75 and 57.26 s. They are performances that many persons half his age would envy. When I saw the article I felt it resonate in me. (I will explain why at the end of this post). So I decided to dedicate an article to this exceptional sprinter.
Allie was running since, well, always. While a high school and, later, university student he did some competitive running but he never reached an elite level. He competed while in his 30s and when he reached 40 he started participating in masters' competitions. And then ... surprise: Allie had slowed down less than those of the same age as him. I love the phrase used by M. Futterman, author of the article on Allie:
The pack had come back to him, and even fallen behind.
Allie first appears in the masters' top lists (for 400 m) in the 45-49 age bracket. With a performance of 51.67 s he is among the top 50 but nothing to write home about. He is moving upwards in the 50-54 list with a 52.58 performance. Then in the 55-59 category he is number one, with 52.24 s, better than his performance in the lower age group! And it continues. He is number two in the 60-64 category, with 54.29 s. (The number one here is the trinidadian Ralph Romain, with 53.88 s. He had performances of 52.80 s and 52.52 s in the 50-54 and 55-59 groups respectively). But from there onwards Allie is the undisputed world's best: first in the 65-69 bracket with 56.28 s and 57.26 s in the 70-74 group. (Meanwhile, Romain faded out with 57.25 s in the 65-69 age group and 61.01 s in the 70-74, his last recorded performance).
What is the secret of Allie? It's probably hereditary: he ages more slowly than those of the same age. His performances decline at the very edge of the ageing curve. According to physiologist M. Joyner, athletic performance declines at least 6 percent per decade. Allie's rate is even slightly less than this. And of course he trains seriously, keeps a constant body weight and has a good health without major injuries.
In 2013 C. Allie obtained the IAAF award for male masters athlete of the year.
Why was the article on Allie so special for me? Here I will beg my readers to indulge me while for once I stray away from athletics and become autobiographical.
While I was always interested in athletics I knew that I could never be a great athlete. Moreover I was feeling that I was more of a swimmer. Unfortunately, in Greece where I grew up, it was next to impossible to do competitive swimming in the 50s for lack of swimming pools. Fortunately, when it was already too late for swimming, I discovered finswimming and my dream of becoming a swimmer came true. I had crossed 35 (which means I was already in the masters age group) when I started participating in finswimming competitions and while I had some minor success it was clear that I stood no chance against the best swimmers. Still I continued training. Over the years more and more masters started competing in finswimming. This led to age groups spanning successive decades from 35 onwards being introduced and specific masters championships being created. By that time I was already in the M4, 65-74, category. And then I realised that a small miracle had happened. I hadn't been ageing as fast as the other persons of my age. (That's why the article on C. Allie did appeal to me right away). So, when the first masters' world championship in finswimming was organised this last spring, I was the best swimmer in my age group (despite the fact that it included athletes up to 8 years younger than myself). And thus I became world champion at 73. I would never have imagined this when I started swimming.
Allie was running since, well, always. While a high school and, later, university student he did some competitive running but he never reached an elite level. He competed while in his 30s and when he reached 40 he started participating in masters' competitions. And then ... surprise: Allie had slowed down less than those of the same age as him. I love the phrase used by M. Futterman, author of the article on Allie:
The pack had come back to him, and even fallen behind.
Allie first appears in the masters' top lists (for 400 m) in the 45-49 age bracket. With a performance of 51.67 s he is among the top 50 but nothing to write home about. He is moving upwards in the 50-54 list with a 52.58 performance. Then in the 55-59 category he is number one, with 52.24 s, better than his performance in the lower age group! And it continues. He is number two in the 60-64 category, with 54.29 s. (The number one here is the trinidadian Ralph Romain, with 53.88 s. He had performances of 52.80 s and 52.52 s in the 50-54 and 55-59 groups respectively). But from there onwards Allie is the undisputed world's best: first in the 65-69 bracket with 56.28 s and 57.26 s in the 70-74 group. (Meanwhile, Romain faded out with 57.25 s in the 65-69 age group and 61.01 s in the 70-74, his last recorded performance).
What is the secret of Allie? It's probably hereditary: he ages more slowly than those of the same age. His performances decline at the very edge of the ageing curve. According to physiologist M. Joyner, athletic performance declines at least 6 percent per decade. Allie's rate is even slightly less than this. And of course he trains seriously, keeps a constant body weight and has a good health without major injuries.
In 2013 C. Allie obtained the IAAF award for male masters athlete of the year.
C. Allie together with C. Bortignon (a multi world record holder in the 75-79 age group)
Why was the article on Allie so special for me? Here I will beg my readers to indulge me while for once I stray away from athletics and become autobiographical.
While I was always interested in athletics I knew that I could never be a great athlete. Moreover I was feeling that I was more of a swimmer. Unfortunately, in Greece where I grew up, it was next to impossible to do competitive swimming in the 50s for lack of swimming pools. Fortunately, when it was already too late for swimming, I discovered finswimming and my dream of becoming a swimmer came true. I had crossed 35 (which means I was already in the masters age group) when I started participating in finswimming competitions and while I had some minor success it was clear that I stood no chance against the best swimmers. Still I continued training. Over the years more and more masters started competing in finswimming. This led to age groups spanning successive decades from 35 onwards being introduced and specific masters championships being created. By that time I was already in the M4, 65-74, category. And then I realised that a small miracle had happened. I hadn't been ageing as fast as the other persons of my age. (That's why the article on C. Allie did appeal to me right away). So, when the first masters' world championship in finswimming was organised this last spring, I was the best swimmer in my age group (despite the fact that it included athletes up to 8 years younger than myself). And thus I became world champion at 73. I would never have imagined this when I started swimming.
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