New Study Reveals When Sports Stars Reach Their Peak

New analysis of more than 1,000 trophy-winning teams and sporting champions has revealed that 27 is the age athletes are most likely to reach their peak and win a trophy.

The research spanned 19 sporting competitions from the Premier League to Olympic Weightlifting across both men’s and women’s events. The average age of each trophy-winning team or singles champ dating back to the year 2000 was included in the research to help answer the question: when do sports stars reach their best?

The age of 27 has been when multiple sporting stars made history. At 27, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score against all 19 opposing La Liga teams while winning the league with Real Madrid and LeBron James also took home his first NBA title at the age.

However, the analysis also revealed that peak performance does differ from sport to sport, with the likes of football having a slightly younger best at 26, while you’re most likely to win a Masters or PGA Tour at 30.

Average Championship Winning Age

• Soccer – 26
• Golf – 30
• Rugby – 28
• Tennis – 27
• 100m Sprint – 27
• Marathon – 28
• Weightlifting – 26
• American football – 27
• Overall – 27

Female weightlifting had the youngest average age of trophy winners, with Gold Medallists in the Women’s Middleweight competition having an average age of just 24.  The theme continued through other sports, with women reaching Championship winning age earlier than men. For instance, male golf players can expect to win the most titles at 32 years old, according to the research.

Male Championship Winning Age

• Soccer – 27
• Golf – 33
• Rugby – 28
• Tennis – 27
• 100m Sprint – 27
• Marathon – 28
• Weightlifting – 286
• American football – 27
• Overall – 28

Female Championship Winning Age

• Soccer – 25
• Golf – 27
• Rugby – 28
• Tennis – 27
• 100m Sprint – 28
• Marathon – 28
• Weightlifting – 24
• Overall – 26

Being over the age of 27 is by no means an end to sporting prowess. In tennis, Roger Federer won his eighth Wimbledon competition at almost 36, while Serena Williams won her last singles title aged 35 at the 2017 Australian Open.

Elsewhere, Tom Brady became the most decorated quarterback in NFL history who at the age of 43, is still going strong. Not only did he win the 2021 Superbowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Just recently, Mickelson won a Major Golf championship at the age of 50, becoming the oldest person ever to win a major.

When it comes to full teams, Premier League squads such as Leicester City’s historic 2015/16 table-topping team did come in at the golden average age of 27, while the likes of AC Milan’s 2007 Champions League team took home the trophy at an average age of 31, with 33-year-old Filippo Inzaghi scoring both goals.

Methodology

To work out the “winning age” of each sport, PureGym selected the top competitions in each sport, listing the winning team or individual for each year of the competition, dating back 20 years. (This was extended to 30 years for the Rugby and Soccer World Cups and the Olympic games due to their more infrequent events).

The research then took each winning team (or individual) and calculated the average age of the squad when the particular team were crowned champions of that competition. The “winning age” of each sport was then calculated by working out the average age of all competition winning teams within those sports. All final ages were rounded to the nearest whole number.

The following sporting competitions were analysed:

• Men’s FIFA World Cup
• Women’s FIFA World Cup
• The Premier League
• FA Women’s Super League
• The UEFA European Soccer Championship
• The UEFA Women’s Euros
• NFL Superbowl
• The Rugby World Cup
• The Women’s Rugby World Cup
• Wimbledon – Men’s Singles
• Wimbledon – Women’s Singles
• The Olympics – Men’s 100m Sprint
• The Olympics – Women’s 100m Sprint
• The Olympics – Men’s Marathon
• The Olympics – Women’s Marathon
• The Olympics – Men’s Middleweight Weightlifting
• The Olympics – Women’s Middleweight Weightlifting
• Men’s Masters Tournament
• Women’s PGA Championship
• NBA
• WNBA (Women’s NBA)