LeBron James and other athletes that prove age is just a number

Sporting careers are notoriously short. Due to the physical demands of most professional sports, including gruelling training and travel schedules, maintaining a long playing career would seem as likely as winning the lottery. 

Even with modern sports science, most sports stars are expected to wrap up their careers as they enter their 30s, with wear and tear from injuries taking their toll. 

There are of course some notable expectations who have defied the odds and played at their peak well past their expected use-by date. Let’s look at some of the sports stars who proved that age is nothing but a number

When you think LeBron James has done it all in basketball, he just finds new ways to surprise you. He has been breaking records his whole life, and has just claimed what many thought would be an unbeatable record – Karrem Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387 point record.

James made NBA history in February 2004, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record 1000 career points at just 19 years. He then went on to be the youngest to do that for the 10,000 point and 20,000 point brackets as well.

Given that it’s taken James 20 years of playing top tier basketball to do this, it’s hard to imagine how many years or how prolific the next record holder will need to be to break Jame’s record.

Because, let’s not forget, LeBron James is still playing out of his skin! At 38, he’s still playing 40-point games. In fact, he’s done this back to back as recently as January 2023. 

At 35, Lionel Messi isn’t ancient, but he’s far from what most would consider the prime age for playing their best football. But if his crowning performance at the Qatar World Cup is been anything to go by, Messi is as good as ever!

At the Qatar Cup alone he led in many key attacking areas with assists (3), shots (32), and shots on target (18). He also had the most Man-of-the-Match awards (5) – a record in and of itself.  His goal tally (7) was only just pipped by Kylian Mbappe (8) in the thrilling final game. 

It was clear that in his final ever international tournament, the man they call 'La Pulga' was on a mission to go out on top with the World Cup trophy in hand. 

It will complete his overflowing list of achievements, including seven Ballon d’Or wins – including two in his 30s – as well as 10 La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions League wins.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots quarterback has well and truly left his mark on the world with his highly successful and record-shattering 23-season-long playing career. 

In a highly competitive and physically demanding sport, Brady defied the odds to play the game at the highest level well into his 40s.

In fact, at 43 Brady became the oldest quarterback in history to win a Super Bowl with a win against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV in 2020 – his seventh Super Bowl win. 

Brady retired – this time 'for good' in February 2023. His last season with the Bucs saw the 45-year-old guide them to another playoff series, in which they were knocked out by the Dallas Cowboys.

Kelly Slater has ridden the waves of success like few other athletes before. Not only does Slater have the honour of being the youngest world surf champion when won the Pro Pipeline at age 20.

He’s also become the oldest – twice. Once when he won it at age 39, and then again in February 2022 at the impressive age of 50. 

In a 30+ career of mostly highlights – including 11 world titles – there’s no question Kelly Slater has left his mark on the world of surfing.

Slater has hinted he’ll be looking to step away from competitive surfing in the near future but intends to keep surfing long into his retirement

Roger Federer caused quite a stir when he announced his retirement from pro tennis earlier this year, and with good reason – it seemed like the 41-year-old would never retire!

Of course, there was always going to be a moment when he had to hang up his racket for good, but considering the five-time World Number 1 and whopping 20 Grand Slam title winner was still playing at his typical best when he officially called time on his playing career in September 2022.

Women in pro sports face different challenges to men and often end up stepping away from their careers much earlier than their male counterparts; an athlete like Venus Williams is a truly remarkable exception.

In a sport where women are expected to peak around 21, Venus has managed to compete in the top echelons of tennis for over 20 more years. 

And unlike her younger sister and former doubles partner Serena, Venus is still competing and has no plans to retire just yet.

The seven-time Grand Slam title winner and former world number one has done it all in her 25+ year career, yet still feels like she has something to prove on the courts at the age of 42.

While some athletes have exceeded expectations by staying competitive long into their careers, others like Bartolo Colon just hit their straps after passing the big 4-0. 

The Dominican pitcher, affectionately known as ‘Big Sexy’ helped take the New York Mets to the World Series in 2015 with a 4-13 record with a 4.16 ERA.

In 2016 showed his batting prowess by becoming the oldest player in baseball history to hit his first career home run at 42 years old.

At 49 years old, Colon is still playing professionally in the Dominican Pro League

 Golf may be a bit of an outlier in the competitive sports world in that it’s not uncommon for people to play well past their 40s. 

However, few have managed to play their best golf that far into their careers. Phil Mickelson is certainly an expectation.

In 2021, Mickelson won his sixth PGA Championship and completed his 45th PGA Tour – all at the impressive age of 51!

This makes Mickelson the oldest person to win a PGA title, with Julius Boros at age 48 and Tom Morris Sr. at 46 behind him. 

US Olympic swimmer Dara Torres is proof that a strong mental attitude can help you defy the odds. In 2008 she showed truly showed the world that age is nothing but a number.

Few pundits held out hope for the 41-year-old as she prepared for her fifth Olympic Games appearance – a record in itself – after she sat out the 2004 Athens Games with injuries.

In Bejing, however, Torres was able to bring home three silver medals – including two as part of the relay team – something which we've still yet to see repeated.