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Comment by Qem | Hacker News Reader

If you're 80 years old and still able to finish ironman, I wonder how many additional years of expected lifespan this gives you, statistically.

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I think in later years a lot has to do with mental state as much as physical state - I've known people who died in their 70s from what appeared to be a lack of will to stay alive but I also know people in their 90s who seemed determined to live as long as possible.

Of course, mental state is only factor but I do think it is very important - particularly as I've just turned 60!

It's all stress, and all stress shortens your lifespan, but some stress also strengthens parts of your system that contribute to a longer lifespan (cardio, muscles and bones for when you inevitably fall while elderly), etc., so it's probably more of a distinct calculation for each individual. I personally have decided to do just enough to remain fit, without going for "gains". I figure that's the sweet spot, but I doubt anyone really knows.

Or is it too much and more likely to take from you? I wonder if the fitness benefits or offset by so much stress on joints.

For a woman of 80 in 2025 you can already say it is making no real difference in terms of statistical outcome so it's at least not obviously taking from her.

She is a little older than her cohort life expectancy at birth (which was 78 in the USA in 1945):

https://www.ssa.gov/oact/TR/2011/lr5a4.html

Assessed in 2010 at the age of 65 she might be expected to live to 85. That seems quite likely.

If anything you would have to say it leans towards extending her life because she will not be eating less like elderly people do, she is likely to have excellent venous health, her reaction times must be good, and prosaically she's so physically fit that just that much more likely not to be derailed by a fall. Living at her age starts to be a question of intent but there are loads of really small things that can trigger decline; she is robust against many of them.

What a remarkable woman.

Life expectancy at birth is different from life expectancy at given age. Each year you manage to survive after birth increases your current life expectancy, because you already managed to avoid all causes of death up to that point.

Yes, I amended my comment but it's still pretty solid. Her average life expectancy assessed at age 65 would have been 85.

(And assessing the average woman of her age now is not likely to change it that much; AFAIK life expectancy in the USA is actually falling slightly across all age groups)

> And assessing the average woman of her age now is not likely to change it that much

The issue is, she's not an average woman, at least in terms of physical fitness.

She's a hell of an anecdatum but she's still an anecdatum.

Assuming no lying or cheating, the plural of anecdote is existence proofs.

Yes but she is singular.

Obviously there is some training here and kudos to the lady, but no doubt her genetical baggage is giving her some advantage here. She's got older not because she's training, she's able to train and perform at this level in spite of being older.

It's entirely possible training has extended her life already.

Boring example but an obese woman with type II diabetes her age might already have had one life-threatening fall, may already have other severe health challenges.

Whereas a woman her age with such good vascular health could be delaying the onset of significant vascular dementia by up to a decade, let alone all the other things.

Still, the point I was making is that it is not shortening her life; it's either having no statistical difference or extending it.

no difference for the young

yet all the difference for people her age

Leonid Boguslavsky started triathlon at 62 and had two femoral neck fractures because of it. He's now 74. I think he also has a knee prosthesis now.

Full triathlon distance has nothing to do with health.

As long as you’re training responsibly your body adapts and builds a ‘base’ over time.

This makes you much more resilient not less.

The Oct-2025 National Geographic has an an article entitled How to age like an athlete. It has stories like that of Nora Langdon, 82 YO woman, that started powerlifting in her 60s. She set personal records in her 70s of 203lbs bench press, 381lbs dead lift, and 413lbs squat. Heavy exercise doesn’t appear to have negatively impacted lifespan in her or others in the article.

I'd expect your lungs, cardiovascular system and bones to contribute much more to your life expectancy than your joints. And all of those benefit from stress (if given sufficient recovery periods, especially for the bones).

“In fact, if you rupture your ACL, you're 50% more likely to have a heart attack than somebody who hasn't.”

https://biology.ucdavis.edu/news/how-our-muscles-tendons-and...

It obviously depends on intensity, and is sometimes described as reverse J-curve[1] relationship. Moderate exercise helps, while intense exercise diminishes these benefits and might also increase mortality risk.

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32848273/

Along these lines I wonder how many people have been able to do triathlons for multiple decades (started in their 20s and still doing in 60s). This impressive woman started late and wondering if that gave her an advantage relative to joint stress...i.e. if you only get so many years

Just program for joint health and reasonable level of functionality, many serious lifters do get hurt and deals with sysemtatic pains for pushing too hard. There's a reason ISS strength training program to prevent musclular atrophy and bone loss are stupid light, something like bodyweight deadlift for 20 reps.

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