Older, Wiser and Winning

February 10, 2026 | Alex Lander

What makes a GOAT? Many will go to the stats, some the prime, and others the trophies. But I think it’s the “T” which differentiates the greats from the GOATs. To be the greatest of all time means showing consistent dominance, from debut to retirement, whilst also showing character and humility to the fans who love you and make you who you are. So in our modern era of sports, how do these so-called “GOATs” sustain top-level performance with the longevity that they do?

Djokovic’s Downwards Dog

The records held by Novak Djokovic need little introduction. On top of his 24 Grand Slam titles, the 38-year-old Serb recently took part in his 11^th Australian Open final, falling just short against 22-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, the world number 1. So how does Novak keep up with the younger generation? What we don’t see on the court is Djokovic’s commitment to keeping his body as young as those players he’s on tour with. Every morning starts with 20 minutes of yoga and a high-intensity gym session, all before a racket is picked up. Yoga returns to his calendar at the end of the day to support better sleep. Alongside this, he also practices Chinese martial art Tai Chi for flexibility, balance and agility.

Ice Cold CR7

In today’s world, those who do not know the name Cristiano Ronaldo are few and far between. He has played the beautiful game for 24 years, during which time he has dominated at the biggest clubs in the game, and amassed 961 goals in over 1300 games. Ronaldo’s success can be credited not only to his unfathomable talent for the game but his mindset and incredible athleticism. One way he maintains one of the best physiques in the sport is dedication to recovery after his workouts, utilising ice baths and cryogenic chambers. He endures temperatures of less than -100^oC for up to 3 minutes, limiting blood flow to affected areas, reducing swelling and speeding up his recovery. Subjecting himself to these conditions helps to flush out toxins as well as increasing dopamine and serotonin allowing him to always be in top condition for his next workout. In 2025 Ronaldo partnered with Whoop in an attempt to measure his biological age by tracking various biomarkers leading to an estimation of 28 years old, 12 years younger than he currently is. More recently Whoop have investigated blood work to amplify their knowledge and insight of the human body. Keeping track of stats such as cardiovascular health and VO2 max are key to keeping these players fit for longer.

LeMeditation

Like Ronaldo, NBA superstar LeBron James also boasts an impressive physique, however the 4- time NBA champion focuses on is the mental side of his game just as much as the physical. LeBron’s mental fortitude stems from many parts of his 23-year career; one being his former team USA teammate Kobe Bryant, renowned for his ‘Mamba Mentality’ and unparalleled work ethic. Like many of the best, LeBron is regularly criticised, though this only propels him forward, reportedly saying “There is a lot of pressure put on me, but I don’t put pressure on myself. I feel if I play my game, it will take care of itself.” In 2019, James partnered with Calm an app developed to improve mental fitness, using the app to help with sleep and relaxation.

Brady’s 12-a-Day

With the athletes above, there is some debate to their GOAT status. Djokovic has Nadal and Federer; Ronaldo has Messi; while Lebron has MJ. When it comes to the NFL, however, there is one man who stands clearly above the rest. Tom Brady stretched out a 21-year career winning 7 Super Bowls, including one at 43 years old, one ACL injury and two retirements. More than any other factor, Brady puts his diet as the key driver of his success, having written an entire book on the subject: ‘The TB12 Method’. Sticking to a regime of whole foods with zero room for error, only eating lean protein and ground grown fruit, veg, seeds and pulses. Everything in Brady’s diet kept his energy high and his recovery quick allowing him to perform at the top level he did for so many years.

The Recovery space

The GOATs have blazed a trail that the rest of us can look to follow, and there is a healthy generation of start-ups and scale-ups emerging that aim to support consumers doing just this. Most established includes the likes of WHOOP (valued at $3.6bn in its 2021 Series D), making elite biometric tracking accessible to over 2 million athletes, and OURA (raising a Series E at ~$11bn in October 2025), democratising access to elite sleep data.

Wellness tech Hyperice has brought CR7-style recovery technology to the mainstream and the elites, with significant adoption within the NBA of their Normatec compression systems. Lebron himself is an investor, as are fellow NBA stars Anthony Davis and Jayson Tatum.

The sports longevity market continues to thrive, driven primarily by ageing athlete demographics and consumer obsession with optimisation and health data. Today, players are healing faster and taking better care of themselves. Careers are becoming longer and records are faster to fall. To be great is to be remembered, and these athletes will be remembered not only for the records they set, and the trophies they won, but for the number of lives they affected over the duration of their lengthy careers.