Physiology · May 2026
Outrunning vascular aging? Vascular function in the 92-year-old 200-m world record holder woman
By Giusti L, Pilotto A, Ansaldo M et al.
INTRODUCTION: Aging is characterized by an impaired responsiveness of the microvasculature to nitric oxide and other vasodilators due to both structural changes and endothelial dysfunction. Exercise training is a potent countermeasure to mitigate vascular aging, although some studies report lowered benefits in post-menopausal women. In this study, we compared variables related to vascular function of the nonagenarian 200m World Record Woman to those of young and old sedentary women. We hypothesized that lifelong sprint training attenuates, or even prevents, age-associated declines in vascular function. METHODS: Fourteen females were recruited: 8 young sedentary (YS; age 26±2 yrs), 5 old sedentary (OS; 77±3 yrs), and the 92-year-old 200-m world record holder (WRH). Participants completed an incremental cycling test to volitional exhaustion to determine peak oxygen uptake ([Formula: see text]O 2 peak). Vascular function was assessed by Doppler ultrasonography of the common femoral artery during passive-leg movement (PLM) in upright-seated posture. Hyperemic responses from PLM were quantified as peak blood flow (BFpeak), the change from baseline to peak blood flow (ΔPeak), and the area under the curve (AUC). Microvascular function was evaluated by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) on the vastus lateralis during a 5-min vascular occlusion test (VOT). The 10-s change in tissue saturation index during the reperfusion phase (Slope2) was used as an index of microvascular responsiveness. Statistical differences between YS and OS were tested by unpaired t-test. The WRH was included descriptively for comparison. RESULTS: [Formula: see text]O 2 peak was 32.58±4.52 ml*min-1*kg-1 in YS, 20.87±2.53 ml*min-1*kg-1 in OS, and 23.0 ml*min-1*kg-1 in the WRH. BFpeak was markedly higher in YS (840±152 ml*min-1) compared with OS (368±143 ml*min-1; p< 0.05). Similarly, both ΔPeak and AUC were greater in YS (595±93 ml*min-1 and 316±72 ml) compared with OS (191±51 ml*min-1 and 136±8 ml; p< 0.05). Microvascular responsiveness, assessed by Slope2, was also higher in YS (1.29±0.28 %*s-1) compared to OS (0.84±0.22 %*s-1; p< 0.05). The WRH showed a partially preserved vascular response, with BFpeak (469 ml*min-1) and ΔPeak (323 ml*min-1) falling between YS and OS. However, AUC (126 ml) and Slope2 (0.80 %*s-1) were slightly lower than OS, suggesting modest impairments in the hyperemic and microvascular responsiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Sedentary older females exhibited a reduced blood flow response to passive leg movement and a slower reperfusion rate following an ischemic stimulus compared with sedentary young females, confirming age-related impairments in vascular function. Remarkably, the WRH demonstrated preserved peak blood flow and ΔPeak during passive leg movement, suggesting that lifelong sprint training may help maintain nitric oxide-mediated vasodilatory capacity. However, the AUC hyperemic response to passive leg movement and microvascular responsiveness after ischemia in the WRH were comparable to those of sedentary older females. These findings suggest that lifelong sprint training can only partially preserve vascular function. FUNDING: Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca (MIUR) Trajector-AGE (2020477RW5) and ReActiveAGE (P2022FNCPR) projects of National Interest (Italy) to MVF and SP, and a National Institutes of Health R01 grant (AG048262) to CWS. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2026 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.