Youth is most often celebrated in the media and in contemporary society. The advantage usually goes to the younger athlete. And mostly everyone wants to look younger.

But the world of triathlons and open water swimming seem to be taking a slightly different approach.

As the population ages in many countries and endurance sports like triathlons and open water swimming become increasingly popular, it is not unusual to see the demographic trends affect both sports.

With Craig Alexander at the age of 38 and Chrissie Wellington at the age of 34 winning yesterday’s Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, wily veterans who are committed to working out intelligently and a healthful lifestyle are leaving their marks on the sport. Their success also replicated in the sport of open water swimming where greats such as Thomas Lurz, Spyridon Gianniotis, Angela Maurer, Edith van Dijk, Petar Stoychev and all the other marathon swimming heroes who have won world championships in their fourth decade on this planet.

But even beyond winning championships, the chronological age of triathletes and open water swimmers is less important than their mentality, outlook and performance. Similar to the increasingly advanced age of the top professional marathon swimmers and those channel swimmers like Penny Palfrey, Sue Oldham, Roger Allsop, Jackie Cobell and all the growing members of the Half Century Club, the triathletes are seemingly getting faster as they get older.

An analysis of the top individual times at yesterday’s Ironman World Championship hints at this point:

The average age of the fastest 10 male pro triathletes in the swim was 33.6 years.
The average age of the fastest 10 female pro triathletes in the swim was also 33.6 years.

The average age of the fastest 10 male pro triathletes in the bike was 34.0 years.
The average age of the fastest 10 female pro triathletes in the bike was 35.2 years.

The average age of the fastest 10 male pro triathletes in the run was 34.1 years.
The average age of the fastest 10 female pro triathletes in the run was 33.8 years.

May youth be served…but it is the older generations that seem to be showing the way.

Copyright © 2011 by Open Water Source