Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
Age Ageing. 2015 Jul;44(4):683-6. doi: 10.1093/ageing/afv023. Epub 2015 Mar 8.
The number of new world records has decreased substantially in most athletic events in recent years. There has been enormous growth in participation at Masters events, and older athletes have been competing at the highest levels with much younger athletes. However, the progression of athletic performance over time has not been well investigated in Masters athletes.
To determine whether older Masters athletes improved athletic performance over time, running and swimming times from 1975 to 2013 were collected biennially. The running event of 100 m was chosen specifically, as it is one of the most popular track and field events that would have attracted a large number of competitors. The middle distance of 400 m as well as 100 m freestyle swimming were also examined to determine whether the results in 100 m sprint event can be confirmed in other events.
The improvements in fastest 100 m running times over time were not significant. However, all the Masters age-group records improved significantly over time. The slopes of improvements over the years were progressively greater at older age groups with the greatest progression observed at oldest age groups of 75-79 years examined. The general trends were similar for 400 m middle-distance running and 100 m freestyle swimming.
While younger athletes' performance has stagnated, Masters athletes improved their athletic performance significantly and progressively over the years. The magnitude of improvements was greater in older age groups gradually closing the gap in athletic performance between younger and older participants.
近年来，大多数田径项目的新世界纪录数量大幅减少。大师赛的参与人数呈指数级增长，年长运动员与年轻运动员同场竞技的水平也越来越高。然而，大师级运动员的运动成绩随时间的推移如何变化还没有得到很好的研究。
为了确定年长的大师级运动员是否随着时间的推移提高了运动表现，我们每两年收集一次 1975 年至 2013 年的跑步和游泳时间。我们特别选择了 100 米跑作为跑步项目，因为它是最受欢迎的田径项目之一，会吸引大量的参赛者。我们还研究了 400 米中距离和 100 米自由泳，以确定 100 米短跑项目的结果是否可以在其他项目中得到证实。
最快 100 米跑步时间随时间的提高并不显著。然而，所有大师赛年龄组的纪录都随着时间的推移显著提高。随着年龄组的增加，每年的提高幅度逐渐增大，在年龄最大的 75-79 岁组中观察到的进展最大。400 米中距离跑步和 100 米自由泳的总体趋势相似。
虽然年轻运动员的表现停滞不前，但大师级运动员的运动成绩随着时间的推移显著提高。随着年龄的增长，提高的幅度逐渐增大，逐渐缩小了年轻和年长参与者之间在运动表现上的差距。
