Oldest Surviving Olympians (Summer Games)
Here is a list of who are believed to be the oldest surviving Olympians from all all athletes who have ever competed at the Summer Olympic Games. The information may not be currently up to date, as these people may have died (as old people tend to do). See also our list of the oldest competitors in each sport, and oldest and youngest Olympic medal winners, and more Olympic Trivia.
Oldest Olympian
The oldest surviving Olympian is believed to be former French long jumper Yvonne Chabot-Curtet, who turns 104 on May 28, 2024. She finished eighth in the London 1948 long jump final and 23rd at Helsinki 1952.
Previous Oldest Olympians were:
- Félix Sienra was a former sailor from Uruguay, who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics in the Firefly class, where he placed sixth. He died aged 107 on 30 January 2023.
- Aarne Kainlauri, a Finnish steeplechaser who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics, finishing 10th. He was bon 25 May 1915, and died 11 March 2020, aged 104 years.
- John Lysak, an American canoer who competed in the Olympic Games in 1936 in Berlin, who was born August 16, 1914, died January 8, 2020 (aged 105). He competed in the Men's 10km Folding Kayak Doubles with Jimmy O'Rourke, placing 7th.
- Simone Schaller, an American athlete who competed at the 1932 and 1936 Olympic Games, who was born August 22, 1912. She finished 4th in the 80m hurdles event in 1932, and was eliminated in the semi-finals in the same event in 1936. She died just after the Rio Olympics on October 20, 2016, aged 104.
- Ingeborg Ingers (née Sjöqvist) a Swedish diver born April 19, 1912. She competed in the platform at the 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics and finished in fourth and ninth place, respectively. She died 22 November 2015 aged 103 years.
- Guo Jie a Chinese Olympic athlete who competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. He was born January 16, 1912, and died on November 15, 2015 at age 103.
Oldest Surviving Gold Medalist
The oldest surviving Olympic Champion is believed to be Hungary's Ágnes Keleti. She turned 103 in January 2024. She won 10 medals in gymnastics at Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956, including five gold medals.
Previous oldest surviving gold medalists were:
- Finnish skier Lydia Wideman (b. 17 May 1920 - d. 13 April 2019) who won gold in 1952 in the 10 kilometres cross-country at Oslo 1952. She died aged 98 in 2019. (Winter Games)
- Sir Durward Knowles, a sailor from the Bahamas. He was born 2 November 1917. He won gold in 1964, and took part in eight Olympics. He died February 24 2018, aged 100.
- Sándor Tarics, a Hungarian water polo player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was born September 23, 1913 and died 21 May 2016 aged 102.
- Attilio Pavesi (born 1 October 1910), an Italian cyclist who won gold at the 1932 LA Games in the Individual Road Race. He died aged 100 on 2 August 2011.
Source: the information on this page was originally sourced from data collected by a Wikipedia user Canadian Paul, and updated with research published by PAUL TCHIR on olympstats.com.
Related Pages
- Oldest competitors in each sport
- List of the oldest and youngest Olympic medalists
- Related Olympians
- More Olympic Trivia
- Oldest and Youngest at the Winter Olympics
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