The rise of longevity sports where aging is the competition

The idea of competing to reverse aging might sound like science fiction, but it’s already happening. Over the past few years, longevity has evolved from a personal health pursuit into a competitive sport, complete with leaderboards, biomarker tracking, and even prize money.

Brian Johnson recently tweeted that for the first time, he is topping the Rejuvenation Olympics. According to this, he is ageing at a pace of 0.48 – which equates to one year for every two chronological years. Some say the recent changes in rules may have contributed to this, but regardless he is living a healthier lifestyle than most of us.

Let’s look at the history of such competitions.

The early days of longevity leaderboards

Dr. Oliver Zolman was one of the first to turn longevity into something measurable. In the not-too-distant 2018, he introduced the Zolman Leaderboards. This a ranking system where both humans and animals competed to improve their biological age. Participants had to share biomarker data publicly and meet strict criteria based on a 15-point statistical system known as the Zolman Biological Age Marker (Z-BAM). Third-party verification helped maintain credibility, preventing exaggerated claims or manipulated results.

These leaderboards weren’t just for show. They gave structure to the growing longevity movement, allowing individuals to see how their biological age compared to others. While the Zolman Leaderboards are currently “undergoing update,” they laid the foundation for what would come next.

Rejuvenation Olympics makes aging a competitive sport

In 2023, Dr. Zolman teamed up with Bryan Johnson—the most well-known longevity athlete at the time—and TruDiagnostic, a company specializing in epigenetic aging tests. Together, they launched the Rejuvenation Olympics, where participants competed based on their DunedinPACE scores, a measure of how fast their body was aging.

The competition featured two leaderboards:

• The relative leaderboard, ranking people based on how much they improved their pace of aging from their personal baseline
• The absolute leaderboard, measuring their overall pace of aging compared to their chronological age

This new format gave rise to longevity athletes like Julie Gibson Clark and Dave Pascoe, who became well-known figures in the space. The idea that aging could be slowed—or even reversed—was no longer just theoretical. It was now something that could be measured, compared, and competed for.

Longevity meets media and expansion

By 2024, longevity sports started gaining more mainstream attention. That same year, Rejuvenation Olympics 2.0 was introduced. The competition removed the limit of 20 athletes and shifted to focus only on absolute pace of aging rather than relative improvements. This allowed for a larger, more inclusive competition where anyone could participate—so long as they were willing to undergo rigorous biomarker testing.

Here is a screenshot of the latest rankings. As you can see Bryan Johnson is top of the pops.

The arrival of the Longevity World Cup

By 2025, the competition expanded even further with the launch of the Longevity World Cup. This time, the focus was on PhenoAge, a biological aging clock based on regular blood tests. Unlike previous competitions, this one introduced prize money and divided participants into leagues based on gender and age groups.

This was a major step in legitimizing longevity as a sport. It meant that competitors weren’t just playing for rankings—they now had financial incentives, structured divisions, and a growing audience.

The future of longevity sports

The concept of longevity as a sport is still evolving, but it’s no longer just a niche experiment. Other competitions and gamified leaderboards are emerging, including XPRIZE Health, Goaly, and the VO2 Max Leaderboard by JoinZero. Fitness trackers are also starting to integrate similar challenges, making biological age reversal something that more people can engage with.

Where this trend goes next depends on whether more people buy into the idea that aging isn’t just something to be accepted—it’s something that can be fought, measured, and even competed over. With leaderboards, prize money, and scientific backing, longevity sports are becoming a serious pursuit, blending health optimization with competition in a way we’ve never seen before.

Source: via