One of the stars of the Euros in 2024 was Lamine Yamal, the impossibly young Spanish winger.
He broke all manner of records when scoring against France in the semi-final of the tournament – of them, becoming the youngest goalscorer at a European Championship or World Cup at the age of 16 years, 362 days….younger than the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona.
It isn’t true to say that all sportsmen and women get better with age – in fact, there are many examples of athletes that actually peak in their teenage years, before the sheen of invincibility and naivety has been chipped away.
But it’s also a truism that many athletes get better with age – or, at least, are able to maintain their levels at a vintage when many of their counterparts have long retired to the coaching staff or TV pundits’ armchair.
Jesus Navas did a passable job of marking Kylian Mbappe out of that 2024 Euros semi-final – not bad for a 38-year-old. Cristiano Ronaldo (39) and Pepe (41) also featured in a Portugal side disappointed to be knocked out at the quarter-final stage by Les Bleus.
As the Euros were playing out in Germany, over at Wimbledon it was another golden oldie that was showing the youngsters the way – Novak Djokovic into the quarter-finals of the men’s singles at the age of 37….at a time when his contemporaries, like Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray, had already retired or were at least contemplating hanging up their racket.
At the Olympic Games in Paris, one of Team GBs medal chances came via their equestrian team – led, in experienced fashion, by the 57-year-old Carl Hester. He will compete more than three decades after making his Olympic debut in Barcelona back in 1992.
They say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but you can give it the tools to remain at the top of its game well into their thirties (and beyond).
But, when you consider the tricks and techniques these sporting veterans use to deliver their peak performances, you may not be so keen to give them a go yourself….
Novak Djokovic’s Pyramid Scheme
Make no bones about it, Novak Djokovic is the greatest tennis player of all time.
He’s won 24 Grand Slam titles (and counting) in an era in which he faced two other players that are in the conversation as the finest ever – Federer and Nadal. If that duo had never picked up a racket, it’s incredible to think how many majors Djokovic would have won.
His world ranking has fluctuated over the years, but that has come about due to the Serbian’s wish to manage his schedule and protect his body – he typically plays in less tournaments these days, which means that he has fewer ranking points to go and win.
But Djokovic always turns up for the Grand Slams – well, when his medical status allows him to, and so it’s his performance at these majors that best reveals his longevity in all its glory.
Here’s the number of Grand Slam titles that the Serbian has won year-on-year during his career:
Straight off the bat, you’ll notice that Djokovic is as prolific at the majors today as he has been at any other point in his career – shown by the size of the stacks from 2018 onwards.
And cast your eye on the stacks that hit three – that is, Djokovic won three of the Grand Slams that year. You’ll notice that two of those occurrences happened in 2021 and 2023….when the Serb was aged 34 and 36 respectively. He won seven Slams between 2021-2023….despite not being allowed to play in two of them due to restrictions in place as a result of the global health crisis.
It is truly bizarre for a tennis player to get better with age. Go and play a best-of-three or best-of-five set game with a friend at your local court – you’ll see immediately how tough this sport is; not only on the shoulders, arms and hands, but also on the legs (this is where much of the velocity in a shot emanates) and your heart and lungs, given the strong cardio required to get round the court.
But Djokovic has gotten stronger, rather than weaker, over the years, and that could perhaps be thanks to the, shall we say, unusual diet and nutritional regime he has adopted in his latter years.
Gluten Cut Out
It’s not uncommon for people to go gluten-free – according to the science, around 6% of the UK population has a sensitivity to gluten, whether they know it or not. Djokovic decided to go gluten-free back in 2010, although the reason why is somewhat unusual.
He went to see a doctor after complaining of a lethargy that was hurting his game – he’d only won one Grand Slam up to that point. The doctor, curiously, asked Djokovic to lie on his back with a slice of bread to his stomach, before getting the Serbian to press against his hand with his own.
Djokovic reported that he felt weaker and couldn’t move the doctor’s hand, confirming the suspicion that he had an intolerance to wheat and gluten. He immediately cut them out, changed to a plant-based diet and 23 Grand Slam titles later it’s a decision that can be described as smart, to say the least.
No small effort too, considering his family owned a pizza restaurant while the young Djokovic was growing up!
The Mysterious Qualities of Pyramid Water
But that is only one component of Djokovic’s dietary and nutritional overhaul. In 2018, he began speaking of the healing properties of so-called ‘pyramid water’, a water that is only found deep in the tunnels underneath the Bosnian Pyramids, a collection of flatiron hills in the city of Visoko that one entrepreneur has claimed are the world’s largest man-made pyramids.
“There is truly a miraculous energy here,” Djokovic said when visiting the site in 2018.
“If there is a paradise on Earth, then it’s here.”
In addition to maximising his physical performance, Djokovic – like most professional sportsmen and women – believes in the power of the mind too, although he takes his psychology to the next level.
A follower of Buddhism, Djokovic is known to meditate for hours at a time – helping the recovery of his body, but also preparing his mind for the challenges ahead.
That’s not all that unusual in sport, but telekinesis – well, that’s a little more off the beaten track.
Djokovic believes that there’s a ‘higher power’ from which we can all seek energy and enlightenment; also claiming that ‘toxic’ water can be turned into healing water simply through the power of positivity – ‘molecules in the water react to our emotions’, the Serbian has claimed.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Magic Chicken
You might describe some of Djokovic’s regime as ‘unorthodox’.
But it certainly works for him. And that’s all that matters.
There aren’t many other veteran sporting stars who have gone to the lengths of Djokovic in unlocking those marginal gains later in their career – and in the case of some, like Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s textbook physical therapy, sensible nutrition and strong genetics that have seen them deliver elite performances deep into their thirties.
Because CR7 moved to Saudi Arabia in 2022 to play his club football, there was a perception that his career was over – he’d taken a handsome payday in recognition of the fact that he was winding down his playing days.
But there’s a metric – international goals for Portugal by year – which shows that the switch to Saudi has not impacted his sharpness on the big stage, albeit he would have been disappointed not to have found the net for the Portuguese at EURO 2024.
You’ll notice that the chart has a generally ascendant moving average, which confirms that Ronaldo’s international goal output has, by and large, improved as he’s got older.
Indeed, he’s mustered double-figures in a single year for Portugal on six occasions – five of them coming after he turned 30. His very best season in terms of international goals came in 2019 at the age of 34, while even at the age of 38 in 2023 he was able to enjoy one of his best goalscoring years for Portugal….despite having moved to Saudi Arabia at this point.
So what is Ronaldo’s secret? Pyramid water? Telekinesis? Actually, the reasons for his stellar performances as he approached his 40th birthday are somewhat more generic.
Living clean is the bottom line. Ronaldo doesn’t drink alcohol or sugary drinks, while favouring a high protein diet that promotes muscle growth and recovery – he typically eats six smaller meals a day, rather than the traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner.
But CR7 too isn’t without his quirks. He’s often seen with painted toenails – but not as a fashion choice. According to some physiologists, nail varnish actually creates a protective layer for the toenail, warding off the threat of bacteria or fungi taking over.
Catching Zs
As you no doubt know, sleep is important to everyone – whether an elite athlete or not. Something in the region of 7-8 hours a day is the pinnacle, although of course most of us get those in one block during the night.
But not Ronaldo. He still gets his seven hours, but he simply breaks it up into 90-minute power naps throughout the day and night – this is known as ‘polyphasic sleep’, and is said to be a pattern that enhances the cognitive development of babies and toddlers.
Alertness, speed of thought and even reaction times are said to be bolstered by polyphasic sleep, which perhaps helps to explain Ronaldo’s continued eye for goal.
Unfortunately, many of the techniques deployed by superstar athletes are not really viable for the average Joe or Jane. And that’s particularly the case when considering Ronaldo’s £50,000 cryotherapy sessions.
So enamoured was the Portuguese ace by the ice treatment, he reportedly had a cryotherapy chamber installed at his homes in Manchester, Madrid and Turin when playing for his previous club sides. These booths use liquid nitrogen to send temperatures tumbling to -200˚C, which reportedly helps to accelerate recovery from injury and fatigue, as well as promoting efficiency in the cardiovascular system.
Fountain of Youth
Different sports call upon the need for unique skillsets – some of which get harder to maintain as we get older.
Mark Cavendish, at the age of 39, should not be winning stages on the Tour de France, as per accepted logic. But that’s what he did in 2024, triumphing in one of his beloved sprint stages to make it 35 career wins – surpassing the legendary Eddie Merckx’s all time record.
𝑺𝒊𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑪𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒉#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/weP1GPaMoT
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 3, 2024
Cavendish is a sprint specialist, which perhaps comes as a surprise – surely elite level sportsmen begin to slow down as they approach their 40th birthday? The answer, it seems, is gruelling training and repetition. The ‘Manx Missile’ claims to ride for 40 hours a week outside of races, claiming that the ‘more you cycle, the better you get’.
He also has a gym at home, which helps, where he concentrates specifically on core exercises to ensure he is in peak physical condition every time he climbs into the saddle.
In July 2024, James Anderson played his final test match for England at the age of 41. Fast bowling in cricket is a tough physical examination – there’s the run-up, which builds momentum and velocity, a ‘gather’, where the player will typically leap into the air, and a delivery, where the rotation of hips and torso, allied to a whip through of the arms and shoulders, has enabled Anderson to bowl at 80mph+ for more than two decades.
James Anderson prepares for his last bow in international cricket 💫#WTC25 | #ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/TmoPCzAsFs
— ICC (@ICC) July 9, 2024
His body, you would have wagered, would have started to fall apart by now – but not a bit of it, and international retirement was rather forced upon him, rather than a necessity for his physical wellbeing.
Of course, Anderson has had to embrace a healthy lifestyle in order to maintain his longevity at cricket’s sharp end; a regime that has included interval training, specific strength exercises (core, legs and shoulders) and a diet in which carbohydrate intake is controlled – pasta is on the menu in the lead-up to games, but prohibited on days off.
The results are extraordinary. Anderson’s international bowling average has fallen since turning 30, meaning that he takes wickets at a more economical rate now. One of the best years of his career, ironically, came after turning 39 in 2022.
The lower the bowling average, the better the individual is said to have bowled – in Anderson’s case, his average has been falling ever since he made his debut for England in 2003.
“I feel maybe my body can deal with it better now that it could when I was 20 or 21. Yes, I feel sore after a day in the field, but everyone does. I did when I was 21; I do now. But you come back the next day and crack on. I know my body can deal with it,” he has said.
The anomaly in Anderson’s average came in 2023, when at the age of 40 he had the ‘worst’ season of his international career, relatively speaking, since 2007. That perhaps explains why the forced retirement call has been made….nobody can go on forever.
Another sporting star knocking on the door of his 40th birthday is LeBron James, who has spent more than half his life as a professional basketball player in the NBA. If you had any doubts about his longevity, how is this for a stat: James has played against 35% of ALL players ever to feature in the NBA.
LeBron James scores the bucket to become the first player in league history to score 40,000 career points 👑
DEN-LAL Live on ABC pic.twitter.com/I84Xd5hiWf
— NBA (@NBA) March 3, 2024
The secret is a five-day a week training schedule that doesn’t include his basketball practice – this is commitment personified. There’s weight training, yoga and calisthenics, all designed to strengthen his core and increase his flexibility….vital for a baller entering his fifth decade on the planet.
So there you have it: a guide to becoming an elite athlete in your late-30s and into your forties. There’s a stack of training and conditioning to be done, as well as the need to ensure your diet and nutrition is right.
Oh, and if you’re willing to dabble in telekinesis, spirit water, cryotherapy and power naps, you may just get even further ahead!