Second Study Finds 93-Year-Old Emma Mazzenga Matches Athletes 50 Years Younger
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Jun 10
Second Study Finds 93-Year-Old Emma Mazzenga Matches Athletes 50 Years Younger
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Jun 10
Summary
Researchers reported in a second Journal of Applied Physiology study that Emma Maria Mazzenga, nearly 93, shows aerobic fitness comparable to athletic women roughly half her age.
Tests run when she was 91 found oxygen uptake and delivery like those of active 30-year-olds, plus unusually preserved nerve-muscle connections and mitochondria functioning more like a 20-year-old's.
Her physiology was not uniformly youthful: leg muscle mass was reduced, weight-lifting force resembled that of people in their 70s or 80s, and fast-twitch fibers showed substantial age-related atrophy.
Mazzenga trains about 3 times a week with mostly high-intensity sprint intervals, a regimen scientists are comparing with other exercise patterns to identify what best slows age-related decline.
The team has already repeated the 2024 lab tests to track changes from age 91 to almost 93, with results expected soon as researchers probe how much training versus other factors drives her longevity.