Ridiculous Life Expectancy of Top Runners

1980 double champ Yifter dead at 72.

I have spent too much time on this today, but as the African youngster said - 'I might be on to something'. The stats for the 1960 medalists are certainly striking to say the least. Consider that most or all of them were born before the second world war.

Of the 23 medal winners in the men's track events and marathon, not including the hurdles, and not including the Marathon winner who died as a result of a car accident :

12 are still alive and at least 78 years of age.

All reached at least 71 and 16 have reached 78.

Coevett wrote:

I have spent too much time on this today, but as the African youngster said - 'I might be on to something'.

He was being sarcastic.

whooosh wrote:

Coevett wrote:

I have spent too much time on this today, but as the African youngster said - 'I might be on to something'.

He was being sarcastic.

Hey kid, calm down, calm down. Maybe I'm being sarcastic too?

I was once sarcastic on a thread before. Long story short, no one picked up on it. :(

Running doesn't prolong life. It may shorten it at extreme levels. What that level is unclear. It could be little as 30mpw or much as 100mpw. Who knows. 90% of how we die is already programmed into our genes. Modern medicine may prolong that in some cases if there is a "cure."

5000m medalists from 1952

Dead at 78, 92 and 71 respectively

Above average if anything

Thhjjjjj wrote:

5000m medalists from 1952

Dead at 78, 92 and 71 respectively

Above average if anything

Mimoun was the 92 year old, also add in fifth place finisher Charaway, 82.

Correction, "Chataway"

5000m 1956 Olympics

48, 60 and 84 y.o. respectively

A bit lower than average

nobody knows his age. not even him. he couldve been 80 or maybe 55.

I'm not sure what sort of point the OP is trying to make. The word "Ridiculous" means "absurd". If a lot of Top Runners (why the CAPS??) lived to 45 or 110, I would find their age at death "Ridiculous". Dying at 78? That seems about right.

1912 1500 bronze and WR holder Abel Kiviat died at 99.

Coevett wrote:

I have spent too much time on this today, but as the African youngster said - 'I might be on to something'. The stats for the 1960 medalists are certainly striking to say the least. Consider that most or all of them were born before the second world war.

Of the 23 medal winners in the men's track events and marathon, not including the hurdles, and not including the Marathon winner who died as a result of a car accident :

12 are still alive and at least 78 years of age.

All reached at least 71 and 16 have reached 78.

LE is the point at which half the population is deceased. Including the marathon winner, it would appear to be around 78 for this group. This is a little higher than LE for this group, but not by much. Off the top of my head, LE for a 20-something male in 1960 would have been 74-76. The data exist to determine LE by age by historical year, but I'd have to search to find it.

5000m 1960 Olympics

All medalists are still alive (all in early 80s now)

I was wrong. LE for a 20-year-old in 1960 was 50.25 years, or to age 70.25 so the LE of medalists is significantly higher than their US male peers.

Moo Goo wrote:

Running doesn't prolong life. It may shorten it at extreme levels. What that level is unclear. It could be little as 30mpw or much as 100mpw. Who knows. 90% of how we die is already programmed into our genes. Modern medicine may prolong that in some cases if there is a "cure."

So all these runners living into their 70's and beyond would have lived to be 100+ if they had chosen to do something else with their lives?

The recent study claiming that extreme levels of running shortens lifespan wasn't exactly rigorous it seems to me. They looked at average age 46 year old masters runners. Presumably they were looking at very old data or they couldn't know when the subjects of the study died. Perhaps it hasn't occured to them that the average 46 year old runner might have taken up running in his or her 40s because of health reasons.

Whatever, we can safely say that elite runners over the last 100 yeras certainly reached old age far more regularly than the average person - whether that's because they were born with a healthy and strong genetic makeup, or because of the running, it's impossible to say.

Vhhjjjj wrote:

5000m 1956 Olympics

48, 60 and 84 y.o. respectively

A bit lower than average

But of course, The Olympic champion killed himself at age 48, so it is not exactly natural cause.

So out of the 8 medalists at 5000m from 1952 to 1960, who did not commit suicide, the average death seems to be slightly above average. One of the three medalists from the 1960 Olympics may actually live into their 90s (all three are still alive today)

Vhhjjjj wrote:

5000m 1956 Olympics

48, 60 and 84 y.o. respectively

A bit lower than average

As I pointed out, Vladimir Kuts committed suicide at 48. He was also an alcoholic.