At the Olympics, 30 Is the New 20

Thirty is the new 20. Need proof? Look at this year’s Olympic favorites. At 31, Michael Phelps is all but guaranteed to take the podium amid a literal pool of 23-year-olds (the average age of the U.S. Olympic swimmers). Sue Bird, 35, and Tamika Catchings, 37, are slated to lead the U.S. women’s basketball team to gold, outshooting competitors who are 10 years their junior. Thirty-four-year-old Serena Williams will hold court against the late-20s tennis players vying for the title. Three-time gold medalist (and mother of three) Kerri Walsh Jennings will turn 38 just before the beach volleyball final—and recently told an interviewer she might still be competing next time around at 42. And, in gymnastics, 41-year-old Oksana Chusovitina will become the oldest woman to compete at the Olympic level in her sport, taking the floor against 22-year-old Aly Raisman, who, though still young, is captaining a U.S. team of teenagers—who historically have hovered just around legal driving age.

Is there something in the water? Not exactly. Many sports are shifting into more physically aggressive territory—compare Raisman’s double Arabian tumble passes to Nadia Comaneci’s 1976 routine. Raisman jumps higher and twists more, while a then-14 Comaneci belonged to an era that was more about ballet than brawn. A different body type is required for these extreme expressions of the events—more muscle tone, longer training. For the Phelps-led fleet, one of the oldest U.S. swim teams to date, smarter, finely tuned training is allowing for more longevity in the sport, as is a new wave of financial resources available to professional athletes outside the more commercial spectator sports like soccer and basketball—a trend that is keeping the best competing well after college. And while there will always be room for fresh talent—we’ve got our eye on 16-year-old hurdler Sydney McLaughlin—it’s nice to know that we’ll be able to watch our favorite athletes grow more comfortable and more competitive in the world’s biggest arena. Here’s to getting better with age.

Serena Williams’s version of “7/11” is a grand slam:

Save

The post At the Olympics, 30 Is the New 20 appeared first on Vogue.