Mazzenga blazed through a 200-meter dash in just 51.47 seconds, almost 1.5 seconds faster than the previous 90-plus world record (Pic: Reuters)
Most 91-year-olds need help to even walk, but not Emma Maria Mazzenga. The Italian nonagenarian recently sprinted through a 200-meter dash in just under one minute, breaking the previous world record for her age group. While her competitors were just gasping for air, Mazzenga was chill.
Amazed by her speed, doctors decided to investigate what made this senior sprinter this agile, fast, and fit. And now, they have been able to find out what makes Mazzenga one of a kind at this age.
After blazing through a 200-meter dash in just 51.47 seconds — almost 1.5 seconds faster than the previous 90-plus world record — Mazzenga became a part of a scientific study to help scientists understand her physiology. Scientists put Mazzenga through various tests, which included cycling drills, knee exercises, and thigh muscle biopsies.
Factors that make Mazzenga super fit at 90
According to experts, two main factors that make Mazzenga a literal Wonder Woman include:
- Her cardiorespiratory fitness includes the way her heart and lungs pump oxygen to her muscles. Experts say that is at par with any fit woman in her 40s or 50s.
- Secondly, her muscles are unique and built for endurance with less burning, which means she can run distances safely without feeling tired. She also had a “very high percentage” of fast-twitch fibres, which produce powerful bursts of energy. According to researchers, these are ideal for fast, explosive movements like sprinting.
“This unique combination likely contributed to her exceptional 200m sprint performance, allowing her to maintain both endurance and speed at an advanced age,” said Dr. Marta Colosio, a postdoctoral fellow at Marquette University and first author of the study.
How did Mazzenga get the physique?
According to Mazzenga, she has been putting in the hard work on her body for decades. Born in 1933, Mazzenga first started her fitness journey in university, competing in the 100, 200, 400, and even the 800-meter races. Her crowning achievement was a fourth-place finish at the national championships in Rome. However, after getting married and having kids, she put her track career on hold for more than two decades. “I got married in 1963,” Mazzenga said in an interview with Vogue Italia. “I returned to racing in 1986 with my old teammates.”
In her early 50s, she joined the masters athletics circuit — competitive races for older runners organized by age group — and has just been a winner since then. “All the costs are on me, but I’m happy to do it,” she said. “The emotion that a race gives me, the adrenaline that each training session gives me, are the pure energy of my days.”
“Lifelong exercise training can enable extraordinary performance and maintain high functional levels even into the ninth decade of life,” Colosio said. Today, she holds five world records five world records, nine European records, and 28 best Italian performances in various categories of master sprinting.
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