Inside the body of a record 91-year-old runner

Most 91-year-olds are competing in their reviewers. Not Emma Maria Mazzenga.

Italian nonagenaria sprinted through a 200 -meter bar within a minute last year, printing the previous world record for its age group. While others were gasping for air, Mazzenga was already developing her next race.

Satisfied with its speed, doctors investigated what makes this elderly sprinter mark. Now, they have discovered the unique physical traits that have helped Mazzenga be one of the most unstoppable wonders of Italy’s athletics.

A body built to move

After the flame of a ram 200 meters in just 51.47 seconds-1.5 seconds faster than the previous 90-plus-Mazzenga world record was recorded in a scientific study to help scientists better understand its physiology of electricity.

Italian researchers place the Queen of speed through a test battery, including cycling drills, knee exercises and thigh muscle biopsy.

They found two main factors that stimulated its fire.

First, Mazzenga’s cardiorespiratory fitness – how well the heart and her lungs pump her oxygen into her muscles – was at the same time with a very suitable woman in her 50s. The energy centers of its cells were also practically identical to a new decade.

Second, her muscles were incredibly unique. Mazzenga’s slow strands built for “extremely large” durability-letting it go away without being burned.

It also had a “very high percentage” of fast fibers, which produce powerful power outbreaks. According to researchers, these are ideal for quick, explosive movements like sprinting.

“This unique combination is likely to contribute to its extraordinary performance 200 million Sprint, allowing it to maintain consistency and speed at an advanced age,” said Dr. Martha Colosio, a post -documentary collaborator at Marquette University and the first author of the study.

Decades in doing

So how does a 91-year-old end up with body-and sprint time-half of her age?

Simple: She’s putting to work for decades.

Born in 1933, Mazzenga first hit the road during her days at the University, competing in the 100, 200, 400 races and even 800 meters races. Her crowning achievement was a fourth place conclusion at the National Championship in Rome.

But as life continued, she became a woman, mother and professor of chemistry, putting her career waiting for more than two decades.

“I got married in 1963,” Mazzenga Vogue Italia told. “I went back to the race in 1986 with my old teammates.”

At 53, she joined Masters Athletics Circuit – Competitive Race for older runners organized by age groups – and never looked back.

“All the costs are to me. But I’m happy to do it,” she said. “The emotion that gives me a race, the adrenaline that gives me every training session are the pure energy of my days.”

This passion is being repaid.

“Training lifelong exercises can enable tremendous performance and maintain high functional levels even in the ninth decade of life,” Colosio said.

Today, it holds five world records of five world records, nine European records and 28 best Italian performances in various categories of masters that Sprinting.

Mazzenga, who has been widowed for more than 40 years, credits not only keeping her body strong – but also her mind.

“It went through some difficult times, which of course have not been missing in a life for as long as mine,” she told Reuters.

Running “also allowed me to be surrounded by many people so that I would never be alone,” Mazzenga added.

Never is late

Most people who reach their 90s slow down – and for a good reason.

Aging results in a number of physiological changes, such as a decrease in muscle mass, bone density, joint flexibility and general mobility. Conditions such as arthritis and osteoporosis, along with lifestyle factors such as inactivity and poor nutrition, only accelerate decline.

But researchers say that physical activity can help maintain and even improve mobility in the elderly, preventing even age -related declines, even for those who have not been athletes all their lives.

“Exercise is a powerful tool for promoting healthy aging,” Colosio said.

In particular, aerobic and strength exercises, along with balance training, can help the elderly maintain movement, independence and a high quality of life – whether they are following world records such as Mazzenga.