It's a given in sport just as it is in life in general ... as one gets older one eases up on the workload.
Try telling that to Hawke's Bay table tennis veteran Russ Winkley.
The 27-time A grade men's singles champion at the Napier club played 24 matches over 12 hours during the first of two days of play on the way to winning six medals, three gold and three bronze, at the New Zealand Masters Games which ended in Wanganui at the weekend.
"I didn't feel too bad at the end of Saturday's play but I definitely struggled during the next day's play," Winkley recalled.
Winkley, 57, is believed to be the Bay's most successful individual at the Games. The fact one of his golds was won in the 35-plus age group added to the enormity of the feat.