Returning to Wimbledon last month at age 47, Martina Navratilova met with some not so surprising criticism. One British paper described her as a “dowager” while some players complained that she didn’t deserve a wildcard spot. But by crushing her first-round opponent in just 46 minutes, the one-time queen of Wimbledon proved that age needn’t stop women from competing. In fact, she will represent the United States next month at the Olympics in Athens.
“When people say why are you doing it, I guess the answer is, because I still can, bottom line,” Navratilova told the media during the tournament.
In the last decade, more and better knowledge about nutrition, hydration, sport-specific conditioning, along with advanced rehabilitation techniques and less invasive surgery, have allowed women to compete longer than ever before. In addition, there are more opportunities for female athletes, from the Senior Olympics to master’s swimming and running programs.
Women are also finding that while they might not overpower their opponents to the extent they did previously, they can bank on their experience to outsmart younger, stronger competition–a strategy Navratilova used at Wimbledon.
“Between her fitness, nutrition, sports specificity of training and the fact that she never let herself get out of shape–it suggests that if you take care of yourself, you don’t have to totally throw in the towel,” says Doug Lentz, certified strength and conditioning specialist and strength coach for the Penn State University women’s tennis team. “I’d be stunned, for example, if Martina’s diet wasn’t impeccable.”
“She can’t change the fact that she’s 47, but because she’s always worked out, the loss of her athleticism has been a much slower process.”
Colin Milner, CEO of the International Council on Active Aging, which promotes physical fitness in older adults, calls Navratilova a great representative for Baby Boomers who won’t age quietly.
“I think we’ll see more older athletes because people will realize they can compete. It’s like breaking the glass ceiling.” What’s prolonging athletic careers, says Milner, is that “we know a lot more about how the body works, such as when to rest it, and how to recuperate after an injury. There’s also a mental part of things. It used to be that you figured you only had so many years to compete and then you’re done. Now with the Senior Olympics and golf’s Senior Tour, for example, people know they can still compete, depending on their abilities.”
Array of competitive sports
Proof is the summer Senior Olympics, which has grown from 2,500 participants in 1987 to 12,000 participants (about 36 percent female) in 1999. Athletes ages 50 and up compete in five-year age increments in 800 events in 18 sports over 16 days. Some 12,000 athletes are expected at the 2005 games, which will take place June 3-18 in Pittsburgh.
“The Boomers are becoming seniors, even though they don’t like to admit it,” says Phil Godfrey, vice president/COO of the Senior Olympics. “They invented triathlon, health clubs and as young people were at the forefront in health and fitness. Now, as they grow older, they’re seeing the benefits of staying healthy and fit, and that’s what the senior games are all about.”
The array of competitive sports available to older women is impressive. Mary Mickelson, 62, started playing in a San Diego women’s basketball league at age 53 after a former high school teammate was given an application as a joke. The two signed up and the league now has a dozen teams with women ranging from ages 50 to 84. Mickelson’s team, the San Diego Stars, has won the gold medal twice at the Senior Olympics.
The last time the 5 foot 7 inch guard–who’s the mother of golf pro Phil Mickelson, golf commentator Tina Mickelson and golf coach Tim Mickelson–played basketball was at Our Lady of Peace High School in San Diego.
“Back then we just played and had a few practices,” she says. “Now we have drills, weight train and run and stretch, on top of playing.”
Mickelson walks 35 miles a week and hired a personal trainer last winter to get back in shape after tearing cartilage while practicing layups.
“I can’t jump as high as I’d like and I can’t run as fast, and I have to do a lot more activity to keep my weight down,” she says. “But I like to work out. You get this high everyone talks about. I remember when the team first competed, we got a bronze and I had that incredible high you get from the excitement that I used to get in high school and hadn’t had since then. I called my son (Phil) and said, `Now I know that feeling where you’re truly in the zone.'”
Athletic careers are also lasting longer because athletes now see sports as a year-round job for which they must constantly stay conditioned, says Scott Riewald, sports science administrator for the U.S. Tennis Association. They’re also eating more healthfully and hydrating before, during and after competition with carbohydrate-packed sports drinks. “There’s increased emphasis on recovery,” he adds, “and part of that is getting the appropriate foods into the body after practice and competition to help muscles recover and repair.”
Functioning at optimal levels
Another change prolonging careers is sports-specific strength training and conditioning, says Anne Taylor, head athletic trainer for the Seattle Sounders, a men’s pro soccer team.
“It’s all about allowing your body to perform and function at its optimal level. The weight training and conditioning programs that are great for one athlete aren’t always good for another. Whenever possible, you want to simulate [in the gym] actions, motions and movements used during the sport. Traditional weight lifting isn’t used as much because it’s not sport-specific.”
Instead, athletes use their own body weight, medicine balls, exercise incorporating balance, and free weights to strengthen the motions and muscles used in their sport.
Surgery is less invasive and rehab specialists realize it’s often best to get athletes moving as quickly as possible, she adds. Injury prevention is also important for longevity. Says Riewald: “We call it injury `prehab.’ You recognize where injuries might occur and strengthen the area, so you’ll last longer with fewer injuries.”
In tennis, for example, shoulder injuries are common and the muscles in front of the shoulder get more work than the back, creating an imbalance. Trainers work to strengthen the entire shoulder, making it less vulnerable to injury.
Sheila Duggan, 41, is a St. Charles mother of three who after years of running shorter races, took up marathon (26.2-mile) 10 years ago, qualifying for the Boston Marathon four times and running it twice. She averages one marathon per year and also bikes, swims, and plays softball and soccer. “I rank [the marathon] right up there with childbirth,” she says. “It’s a wonderful feeling, painful but with a great sense of reward.”
Like Mickelson, Duggan has found that rest, cross-training and weight training are key to remaining competitive as you age.
“I used to be pretty intense and committed to six days running, one day rest. Now if my body says `not today,’ or if I feel a twinge of injury, I’ll rest or do a very easy workout,” Duggan says.
“I think we’re just starting to see what women are capable of,” says Donna Lopiano, 57, president of the Women’s Sports Foundation. “There’s a realization by women that their lives depend on it. If you want quality of life, if you care about the whole issue of taking care of yourself or someone taking care of you, you’d better be working out regularly at something you love.”
