There’s no doubt that Hans Smeets stands atop the world of 75-year-old distance running.
In recent years, he’s captured 15 world championships, including two gold medals (800 meters, 1500 meters) in last summer’s World Masters Association Championships in Tampere, Finland. Last fall he added an age-group world record in the mile (5:41.20). And most recently, in March 2023, Smeets won two more gold medals in the World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland.
When the Dutch athlete slipped into a physiology lab at Maastricht University last year, he established more new records. His maximal aerobic capacity (“VO2 max”) of 50.5 ml/kg/min is the highest ever measured in a 75-year old. Since VO2 max is widely regarded as the ultimate test of cardiac fitness, Smeets could be considered the fittest-ever 75-year-old.
In fact, you could say that he’s 75 going on 25. According to a Mayo Clinic analysis of the U.S. “National Fitness Registry” for age and VO2 max, Smeets checks in with a score roughly the same as an average male in his mid-20s.
This data comes from research just published in the International…
