Elite sports stars defy age with modern science

Cristiano Ronaldo turned 40 in February and is top scorer in Saudi football's top flight. Lewis Hamilton hit the same age in January and is chasing an eighth Formula One title. LeBron James, also recently 40, is the first National Basketball Association (NBA) player to score 50,000 combined points.

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LONDON - Cristiano Ronaldo turned 40 in February and is top scorer in Saudi football's top flight. Lewis Hamilton hit the same age in January and is chasing an eighth Formula One title. LeBron James, also recently 40, is the first National Basketball Association (NBA) player to score 50,000 combined points.

They are big-name examples of the growing multitude of modern sportspersons performing at remarkable levels at an age when in yesteryear they would probably be long retired.

Experts attribute the growing longevity in elite sport to a host of steadily evolving conditions - from improved diet and mental well-being to better recovery and training facilities.

"A whole constellation of factors... it's like pouring gasoline," performance nutritionist Marc Bubbs, author of Peak - about science in sport - said of the additional factors fuelling top performance.

In his field - nutrition - athletes are far more thoughtful about what they eat, some hiring chefs to prepare tailored meals, others like Hamilton embracing high-fibre, plant-based diets.