Survival of the fittest: Retrospective cohort study of the longevity of Olympic medallists in the modern era

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether Olympic medallists live longer than the general population. Design: Retrospective cohort study, with passive follow-up and conditional survival analysis to account for unidentified loss to follow-up. Setting and participants: 15 174 Olympic athletes from nine country groups (United States, Germany, Nordic countries, Russia, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada, and Australia and New Zealand) who won medals in the Olympic Games held in 1896-2010. Medallists were compared with matched cohorts in the general population (by country, age, sex, and year of birth). Main outcome measures Relative conditional survival. Results: More medallists than matched controls in..