Elite athletes in different sports and around the world are competing at a high level into their 40s.

• Why it matters: They're changing what we thought was possible for athletes as they age.

🔭 The big picture: This isn't exactly new, but it used to be rare. What's changed is the frequency, the array of aides supporting the stars, and the reality — the expectation — that athletes can compete longer and produce, AP's Stephen Wade writes.

• "If you look at many elite athletes now, they have an army of supporting staff like a Formula 1 team," Hirofumi Tanaka, an exercise physiologist at UT Austin, told AP. "They have physical therapists, dietitians, massage therapists, strength coaches and so on."

🏀 Zoom in: Lebron James is still a top player at 40, and it's reported he spends $1.5 million a year on his body.

• "You meet with him and he's always soaking something or eating something or has some contraption attached to him," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said.

🎾 Serena Williams won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017 — at age 35 and while she was several weeks pregnant.

⛷️ Lindsey Vonn, who's also 40, is making a comeback with a new titanium knee.

• Vonn talks about the benefits of ice baths and new recovery methods that were not around earlier in her career, AP's Wade notes.

🏈 Tom Brady won his last Super Bowl at age 43 when he took down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

⚽ Cristiano Ronaldo turns 40 tomorrow, and he isn't quite ready to retire.

• He told the Spanish TV channel La Sexta, "I'm still very good. I'm still making a difference."

The bottom line: These stars have access to the best therapies and teams of aides to keep them fast, strong and sharp for longer.

• But we can all take lessons from their refusal to step back or slow down just because of age.

"My wife and I have been to 38 of the 63 national parks — several multiple times," writes reader Bob Russell, who took this stunning shot inside Glacier National Park in Montana.

• "This photo of a mountain goat at the Hidden Lake Overlook expresses better than words why I love Glacier National Park: wildlife and unsurpassed natural beauty."