From https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2025/08/24/92-year-old-sprinter-emma-mazzenga/ August 2025
Title : This 92-year-old sprinter has the muscle cells of someone in their 20s
By Teddy Amenabar and Stefano Pitrelli
[Emma Maria Mazzenga holds 4 world records for women over 90 ... Under a microscope, Mazzenga’s muscle proved to be a mosaic of both the expected and extraordinary. Her fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are associated with speed, resembled those of a healthy 70-year-old — good for her age but not exceptional. She has some normal age-related muscle loss ... But Mazzenga’s slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are associated with endurance activities, looked like those of a 20-year-old, as did the blood flow and nerve pathways to her muscles...
“Either through genetics or her lifestyle — or a mixture of both — she is able to keep that communication between the brain, between the nerves and the muscle at a much healthier level than what we typically see in a 90-year-old,” ...
Mazzenga started running track and field at the University of Padua, where she studied biological sciences, when she was 19 years old. She continued racing after graduating from college in 1957, but she stopped after four more years of competition because her mother was sick. Two years later, she got married and had two children. She didn’t return to running until 25 years later, when she was 53.
Nowadays, in the summer, Mazzenga ... runs 2 or 3 times a week and goes for a walk on her off days.
“I never spend a whole day indoors,” she said.
Her track workouts last about an hour. She starts with a warmup — some slow running — followed by short stretches of running (about 1/3 of a mile). Then, she’ll practice running whatever distance she’s preparing to race, with rests in between... she cooks “very simple things” such as steak, fish, fried eggs and “a little pasta, a little rice.”...
Bas Van Hooren, an assistant professor in nutrition and movement sciences ... has published 3 case studies of elite runners in their 70s. And the key to their success has been consistency, he said.
“A lot of the detrimental effects that you see with aging can be substantially reduced if we just keep those physical activity levels very high,” Van Hooren said.
The good news is: “It’s never too late to get started,” he added. All of the runners he’s studied started training in middle age.
Luigi Ferrucci, the scientific director at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore who isn’t involved in the study, said the researcher’s findings are “very, very good,” but healthy aging is about more than just muscle.
To stay physically and mentally active later in life, a person needs a holistic approach to nutrition, cognition and exercise, Ferrucci said. “Exercise is a good base but you need to do a lot more. You need to take care of your entire body.” ...]
Title : This 92-year-old sprinter has the muscle cells of someone in their 20s
By Teddy Amenabar and Stefano Pitrelli
[Emma Maria Mazzenga holds 4 world records for women over 90 ... Under a microscope, Mazzenga’s muscle proved to be a mosaic of both the expected and extraordinary. Her fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are associated with speed, resembled those of a healthy 70-year-old — good for her age but not exceptional. She has some normal age-related muscle loss ... But Mazzenga’s slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are associated with endurance activities, looked like those of a 20-year-old, as did the blood flow and nerve pathways to her muscles...
“Either through genetics or her lifestyle — or a mixture of both — she is able to keep that communication between the brain, between the nerves and the muscle at a much healthier level than what we typically see in a 90-year-old,” ...
Mazzenga started running track and field at the University of Padua, where she studied biological sciences, when she was 19 years old. She continued racing after graduating from college in 1957, but she stopped after four more years of competition because her mother was sick. Two years later, she got married and had two children. She didn’t return to running until 25 years later, when she was 53.
Nowadays, in the summer, Mazzenga ... runs 2 or 3 times a week and goes for a walk on her off days.
“I never spend a whole day indoors,” she said.
Her track workouts last about an hour. She starts with a warmup — some slow running — followed by short stretches of running (about 1/3 of a mile). Then, she’ll practice running whatever distance she’s preparing to race, with rests in between... she cooks “very simple things” such as steak, fish, fried eggs and “a little pasta, a little rice.”...
Bas Van Hooren, an assistant professor in nutrition and movement sciences ... has published 3 case studies of elite runners in their 70s. And the key to their success has been consistency, he said.
“A lot of the detrimental effects that you see with aging can be substantially reduced if we just keep those physical activity levels very high,” Van Hooren said.
The good news is: “It’s never too late to get started,” he added. All of the runners he’s studied started training in middle age.
Luigi Ferrucci, the scientific director at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore who isn’t involved in the study, said the researcher’s findings are “very, very good,” but healthy aging is about more than just muscle.
To stay physically and mentally active later in life, a person needs a holistic approach to nutrition, cognition and exercise, Ferrucci said. “Exercise is a good base but you need to do a lot more. You need to take care of your entire body.” ...]
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