The demographics of the population are changing such that life expectancy is progressively rising. However, this is not being accompanied by equivalent years of healthy living (the health span). Whilst there are growing concerns over the effects of physical inactivity in much of the older population, there are also increasing numbers of older individuals undertaking high levels of physical exercise, with many actively involved in competitive sports. These individuals, often referred to as “veteran” or “master” athletes, are of interest from a number of physiological perspectives. AV Hill once said noted much could be learned about human physiology from analysis of athletic records, perhaps because performance in athletic competitions is arguably the greatest test of physiological integration. This can also be applied to the study of the physiology of ageing where analyses of world records have been undertaken to target the trajectory of declines in performances as athletes get older. An overview of these analyses suggests an essentially linear decline in performance with increasing age until the eighth decade after which there appears to be an accelerated decline. This “breakpoint” is interesting. It may simply reflect a progressively smaller population base of older athletes, or is possibly reflective of a breakdown in integration of physiological systems. Another perspective from which the study of master athletes is important arises from a more fundamental biological standpoint about human ageing. The ageing process is generally considered to be characterised by decrements in size, functionality and adaptability of different tissues and cells. This is reflected in declines in whole body physical function and an increased susceptibility to disease and risk of frailty. Yet, a unifying theory of ageing remains elusive. Furthermore, when it comes to integrative human physiology and function we lack clarity as to the trajectory of decline that might be attributed to an underlying or inherent ageing process – i.e. that is not influenced by other lifestyle factors. This is partly as a result of fundamental limitations to cross-sectional studies per se, but also by the vagaries of inclusion criteria for studies of human ageing. In the context of our hunter- gatherer evolutionary heritage, where levels of physical activity levels were believed to be much higher than those currently undertaken by most of the population, it can be argued that master athletes provide the most appropriate model in whom to study the biology of human ageing. A decline in function in an exerciser over time should represent the effects of the biological ageing process, as opposed to a decline in a sedentary person whose functional decline would represent an interaction of the inherent ageing process and the pernicious effects of inactivity and other negative lifestyle factors. This presentation will consider both the remarkable performances of master athletes as well as how these individuals contribute our understanding of the physiology of human ageing.