The story of 77-year-old Jeannie Rice's overcoming, which science studies: "Her VO2 max is higher than that of 25-year-old women."

At 77, Jeannie Rice has become a true icon in the world of athletics . Thanks to her capacity for effort, dedication, and sacrifice, the athlete is being studied by researchers at the School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Sciences at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom.

The South Korean-born athlete seems to have no limits and, despite her age, has broken several world records in the women's 75-79 age group in distances ranging from 1,500 meters to a 42-kilometer marathon: "I hope to stay healthy so that when I'm 80, I can still run a good marathon," added Rice herself.

Object of study

Michele Zanini, one of the researchers studying Jannie Rice's anatomy, has claimed that the South Korean's VO2 max is "higher than even 25-year-old women." "The incredible thing about her data is that her VO2 max is probably higher than even 25-year-old women," he said in an interview with BBC Mundo .

But what is VO2 max, really? Well, it's the maximum amount of oxygen the body can absorb, use, and transport during any type of physical activity.

As Zanini revealed, Jeannie was tested six days after participating in the London Marathon in 2024, and her numbers were absolutely astounding: "She broke the world record in her category. It was a good time to understand how her body works. We focused on the physiological determinants of exceptional performance ."

How is the research conducted? According to the researchers themselves, they asked the 77-year-old athlete to train as she did on a daily basis and began evaluating her: "It's based on three parameters: maximum oxygen uptake, that is, the maximum amount of oxygen a person can use. This allows us to evaluate exercise economy and running economy... how that oxygen translates into speed and physiological thresholds."

A lifetime between kilometers

"I started jogging around the block, and then before I knew it, I was running longer and longer distances. First, two miles, then five miles," Rice added, recalling her early days in running at the age of 35: "I wanted to lose a few pounds I'd gained on vacation."

On the other hand, he mentioned the moment when he first decided to join a running club in his community and, together with them, signed up for his first race, the Cleveland Marathon, in 1983: "Surprisingly, I ran it in 3 hours and 45 minutes. At that moment, I knew I could do much better and I started training a little harder."

From then on, Rice became "hooked" on competition after running the Columbus Marathon, which she completed in just "3 hours and 16 minutes," a time that allowed her to qualify for the Boston race: "That's when I was hooked. Ever since then, I've been running marathons. It wasn't just about the running anymore... it was also about the excitement of traveling to another country and experiencing new cultures."

The first world record

Rice, who trains about six days a week and runs a total of 80 kilometers, first set the world record at the Chicago Marathon in 2018: "Breaking that record was a huge deal for me. In 2019, I went to Berlin and beat my own record by three minutes."

Years later, specifically in Chicago 2023, she again managed to break a new barrier in the 75-79 age group and has set the Sydney Marathon as her next goal : "I'm working to see if I can break my own record. I'm always ready because I run throughout the whole year.

Everyone's praise

1968 Boston Marathon champion Amby Burfoot has weighed in on Jeannie's accomplishments, acknowledging that she is, to date, the "fastest" 75-year-old runner: "We've seen Jeannie perform, and she's run faster than any other 75-year-old woman."

On the other hand, Bas Van Hooren, professor of Nutrition and Movement Sciences at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, acknowledged that Burfoot contacted him to study Jeannie in depth: " I found it very interesting because we hadn't done studies with women. He recommended that I analyze Rice because he knew she had done studies with male athletes. He told me that she was also breaking world records in that division."

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What were the results and what is your daily routine like?

The study found that Rice recorded the "highest VO2 max ever recorded in women over 75 years of age" and that she utilized "oxygen" exceptionally well in line with "marathon metabolic thresholds and speed" comparable to "much younger world-class distance runners."

"When the results were published, they told me that my physical condition is almost as young as a 25-year-old woman. Running is a very important part of my life, I feel very motivated. I want to continue running as well or better, but as you get older it's difficult to get faster," said the runner, who also explained her daily life and routine: " I maintain a healthy lifestyle, I get up at 5:30 or 6:00 and go for a run. I've done it this way for 42 years. I go to bed early, I don't need much sleep. I eat vegetables, fruits and fish... I also love rice. I also drink a lot of water and stay hydrated all the time."