Short-lived Athletes

Interview wlth a Boston trainer: Did it ever occur to you that athletes are rarely long lived? By athletes I mean the folks who are training themselves continually for special feats of muscular power, and I leave out the dilettante amateur, who exercises slightly, comparatively speaking, and then with only the object of physical development. It is my opinión that, as a rule, the professional athlete is not a very good risk for the Ufe insurance people. And this aside from any risks oí phys'cal injury oí a sudden nature to which the athlete in the course of his performance may be subject. I think it would seriously stump you lf I asked you to name a dozen cases of extreme longevity among men who have been famous for their muscular power and skill. But anybody can name a dozen people who have led sedentary Uves from boyhood and attained extreme oíd age. Very strange as it may appear, consumption is a disease to which the swimmer, the oarsman, the runner and the fighter have all, on numerous occasions, fallen victims. Rheumatism is another common disorder; all of which sometimes makes me think that nature never intendcd the development of the human physical energies to the point at which they are often observed. The athlete who lives the longest is the man who used to be an athlete and gave up his athletic fancies and plans before he had reached middle Ufe.