For the first time in a little while, Oldest Olympians has two milestone birthdays to celebrate so, rather than choose between them, we are going to feature both in a single blog entry!
First, we are wishing a happy 96th birthday to Muhammad Ashraf, the oldest living Olympic wrestler! Ashraf represented Pakistan at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where he was eliminated in round four of the lightweight, freestyle event. He did win gold medals in this category at the 1958 and 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, in addition to bronze at the 1954 Asian Games. He coached the national team from 1960 through 1972 and then moved to Australia to run their wrestling squad. He now resides in Adelaide.
Secondly, British speed skater Henry Howes is turning 96 as the oldest living Olympic speed skater! Howes represented his country in four events at the 1948 St. Moritz Games, with a best finish of 18th in the 1500 metres. He won four national titles between 1946 and 1950 and now resides in Staines, Sussex.
Today Oldest Olympians is ending our look into mystery competitors from the 1948 London Olympics for whom we lack both a date of birth and confirmation as to whether they are alive or deceased. Given the time that has passed, nearly all of these Olympians would be at least 90 years old, but there is a possibility that some are still alive. Today we will conclude by mentioning the remaining Egyptian participants who meet this definition.
(Mohamed Soliman)
Our first Olympian is Mohamed Soliman, who represented Egypt in the basketball tournament at the London Games, where the nation placed 19th in a field of 23 teams. He was a member of the Young Men’s Muslim Association of Cairo and we have a picture of him, posted above, but otherwise we have been unable to uncover more information due to his name being fairly common. We have encountered a similar problem with diver Mohamed Ibrahim, who placed 22nd in the springboard event. In his case, we suspect that we may have gone by a different name domestically, but we have no proof.
The final two Olympians took part in the water polo tournament, where Egypt was eliminated in the semi-finals and placed seventh overall in the classification round. While we have had mixed results in locating information about the team in general, we have been unable to find anything at all about Mohamed Haraga and Mohamed Khadry.
(Abílio Brandão)
We have one more update on this subject: thanks to research from Connor Mah, we have learned that one of the Olympians that we covered in this series, Portuguese sport shooter Abílio Brandão, was born October 15, 1910 in Porto, giving us some additional information. With that, we are concluding our look into this topic, which means that next time we will have something new and different to present. We hope that you will join us!
Today Oldest Olympians is continuing to finalize our look into mystery competitors from the 1948 London Olympics for whom we lack both a date of birth and confirmation as to whether they are alive or deceased. Given the time that has passed, nearly all of these Olympians would be at least 90 years old, but there is a possibility that some are still alive. Today we wanted to continue looking at the many Egyptian participants who meet this definition and, having covered all the physical power sports, we now want to move to the opposite end of the scale: artistic gymnastics.
(Results of the 1948 Egyptian national gymnastics championship)
Information on Egyptian gymnasts is difficult to uncover because, in many cases, the names presented in the Olympic report differ from the ones that they used in their home country. One whose name seems certain is Ali El-Hefnawi, who was the national horse vault champion in 1948. At the London Games, this was his best event, as he placed joint-36th. Unfortunately, we have been unable to uncover any other definitive information about him.
Cairo-born Moustafa Abdel-Aal, of the Al-Ahly Club, was the 1948 national champion in the individual all-around, parallel bars, and floor exercise, and was competing as a junior in 1939, which gives us a rough estimate of his age. His best event in London was the rings, where he was 56th. He may have been related to the better-known Egyptian gymnast Mahmoud Abdel-Aal, but we do not know for certain.
For the other two gymnasts, we have no biographical details at all. Ahmed Khalaf Ali had a best finish of joint-79th in the parallel bars, while Mohamed Aly had best finishes of 81st in both the parallel bars and the horse vault. Particularly with the latter competitor, it has been difficult to locate any details about their careers or their lives, given their common names.
Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Jamaican track athlete George Rhoden, born December 13, 1926, died August 24 at the age of 97. Rhoden first represented his country at the 1948 London Olympics, where he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 400 metres event and also competed in the men’s 4×400 metres relay. He was much more successful in these events at the 1952 edition of the Games, taking gold in both. Prior to this tournament, he had set a world record in the 400 metres in 1950 and had won NCAA championships as a student at Morgan State University in Baltimore. He later became a podiatrist.
At the time of his death, Rhoden was the oldest living Jamaican Olympic medalist and the oldest medalist in Olympic track and field. Unfortunately, we know of no other Jamaican Olympic medalists over the age of 90, but the new oldest living Olympic track and field medalist is Sheila Lerwill, born August 16, 1928. Lerwill won a silver medal for Great Britain in the high jump at the 1952 Helsinki Games. She captured that title at the 1950 European Championships and came in fourth at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. After coming in fifth at that year’s Europeans, she retired from active competition.
As an additional note, the oldest living Olympic champion in track and field athletics is now Greg Bell, born November 7, 1930. Bell represented the United States at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where he won a gold medal in the long jump. He was a three-time national champion, a two time collegiate champion, and a 1959 Pan American Games silver medalist. He later became a dentist and served as a director of dentistry at an Indiana hospital.
Finally, a few months ago we featured Chilean Gerda Martín, born September 5, 1927, as our Olympian of the day. Unfortunately, we have now learned that she had died on April 5, before we posted, at the age of 96.
Today we have two milestone birthdays among the Oldest Olympians so, as is our new tradition, we are combining them into a single blog post rather than choosing between them!
(The 1964 Hong Kong Olympic field hockey team, pictured at The Olympians)
First, we are wishing a happy 93rd birthday to Lionel Guterres, the oldest living Olympian to have represented Hong Kong! Guterres was a member of Hong Kong’s field hockey delegation to the 1964 Tokyo Games, where it finished last in its preliminary round pool and was eliminated. He later emigrated to the United States and now lives in Vallejo, California.
We next want to wish a happy 92nd birthday to Otto Ammermann, the oldest living Olympian to have represented a West German team, rather than a unified one! He did so in the eventing tournament at the 1976 Montreal Games and, while he was disqualified individually, he won a silver medal with the team. He had also taken team silver at the World Championships the year before and was West German champion in 1969, 1978, and 1980.
Today we have two milestone birthdays among the Oldest Olympians so, as usual, we are combining them into a single blog post rather than choosing between them!
First, we are wishing a happy 92nd birthday to Maria Golimowska, the oldest living Olympic volleyball medalist! Golimowska represented Poland in the tournament at the 1964 Tokyo Games, where she won a bronze medal. She also took bronze at the 1956 and 1962 World Championships and the 1958 European Championships, in addition to silver at the 1963 Europeans. Her international career lasted from 1955 through 1966, and she did not retire domestically until 1971.
We are also wishing a happy 92nd birthday to Leo Franciosi, the oldest living Sammarinese Olympian! Franciosi represented San Marino in four editions of the Olympic trap shooting tournament – 1960, 1968, 1976, 1980 – with a best finish of joint-21st in 1976. He was also the flagbearer for San Marino in the 1968 Opening Ceremony.
Today Oldest Olympians is continuing to finalize our look into mystery competitors from the 1948 London Olympics for whom we lack both a date of birth and confirmation as to whether they are alive or deceased. Given the time that has passed, nearly all of these Olympians would be at least 90 years old, but there is a possibility that some are still alive. Today we wanted to continue looking at the many Egyptian participants who meet this definition and, having covered wrestlers last time, we are going to look at the other physical strength sports: weightlifting and boxing.
(Ibrahim El-Dessouki, pictured at Getty Images)
Since weightlifting was a popular sport in Egypt, in which they found much success at the time, we have only one mystery in this category: Ibrahim El-Dessouki. El-Dessouki represented his country as a featherweight in London and placed 12th, in a category won by his compatriot Mahmoud Fayad. We have unable to uncover additional information about him outside of the Olympics, and thus we suspect that this might not have been his commonly used name in Arabic. He may have been Ibrahim Moussa of Alexandria or Ibrahim Abduh of Port Said, both of whom were active at this time, but we have not located any conclusive evidence.
(Ezz El-Din Nasir)
We know a little more about our two mystery boxing competitors. The first, Ezz El-Din Nasir, was eliminated in round one of the lightweight tournament. He had been national champion in that division earlier in the year, and was from Cairo. The second, sometimes referred to as Mohamed Hamouda, was actually Muhsin Hamouda, also of Cairo and also national champion in his category in 1948. He was defeated in round one of the featherweight competition, and we have not been able to learn more about either of these fighters after their Olympic appearances.
Today we have two milestone birthdays among the Oldest Olympians so, yet again, we are combining them into a single blog post rather than choosing between them!
First, we are wishing a happy 96th birthday to Phyllis Lightbourn-Jones, the oldest living Olympian from Bermuda! Lightbourn-Jones represented her nation in five events across two editions of the Games – in 1948 and 1952 – but did not reach the final round of any of them. She later married an American Naval Officer and moved to Connecticut, where, in 1957, she volunteered to coach at the United States Coast Guard Academy, where her husband was teaching chemistry. When her offer was accepted, she became the first woman, at the age of 28, to coach track and field at an institution of higher education. She now resides in Naples, Florida.
Secondly, we are wishing Giuseppe Moioli, the oldest Olympic rowing champion and Italian Olympic medalist, a happy 97th birthday! Moioli won gold in the coxless fours at the 1948 London Games, just missed the podium in fourth in 1956 Melbourne, and also competed in 1952 Helsinki. He was a five-time European champion in this event between 1947 and 1956, and also won with the eights in 1958, in addition to a coxless fours gold medal at the 1955 Mediterranean Games. He later worked as a coach.
Recently, we have become aware of three deaths among Olympians born in 1925. Today we wanted to cover them in a single blog post, as all three were titleholders among the Oldest Olympians.
First, Indian filed hockey player Amit Singh Bakshi, born September 17, 1925, died June 22 at the age of 98. Bakshi represented his country in the tournament at the 1956 Melbourne Games, which India won. He later became a commercial pilot and, at the time of his death, was the oldest living Indian Olympian and oldest living field hockey medalist. In the former category, the new titleholder is another gold medal-winning field hockey player, Raghbir Lal, born November 15, 1929. He was also part of the tournament-winning team in 1956, and took gold in 1952 as well, which additionally makes him the oldest living Olympic champion in field hockey. The oldest living medalist in that sport, however, is Anthony Nunn of Great Britain, born May 24, 1927, who took bronze in 1952.
Then, Russian speed skater Yury Sergeyev, born July 16, 1925, died July 29 at the age of 99. Sergeyev represented his country in the 500 metres event at the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics and just missed the podium in fourth. He set a world record in that event in 1952 and improved it three times over the next four years. He retired shortly after the Games and later became a coach. Sergeyev was the oldest survivor of the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Games and the oldest living Olympic speed skater. The former distinction now goes to Austrian ice hockey player Adolf Hafner, born January 5, 1926. The latter now belongs to Henry Howes of Great Britain, born October 11, 1928, who competed in three events at the 1948 St. Moritz Games.
Finally, Oldest Olympians has been informed that South African rower Don Dyke-Wells, born February 13, 1925, died March 20, 2023. Dyke-Wells was a member of the South African coxless fours squad at the 1952 Helsinki Games, which was eliminated in the round one repêchage. This was the culmination of his international career, and he soon retired from active competition in order to focus on his vocation. By profession, he was an architect, industrial designer, and teacher, most notably at the KwaZulu-Natal Institute for Architecture, although he also ran his own independent firm. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living South African Olympian; that title now goes to track athlete Daphne Robb-Hasenjäger, born July 2, 1929, who competed in two editions of the Games, 1948 and 1952, and took silver in the 100 metres at the latter Olympics.
Today we have two milestone birthdays among the Oldest Olympians so, as usual, we are combining them into a single blog post rather than choosing between them!
First, we are wishing a happy 94th birthday to Tan Liong Houw, the oldest living Indonesian Olympian! Tan represented his country in the football tournament at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals. He also represented Indonesia at three editions of the Asian Games, winning bronze in 1958.
Next, we are wishing a happy 93rd birthday to Japanese gymnast Takashi Ono! Ono represented his country in four consecutive editions of the Games, from 1952 through 1964, winning a total of 13 medals, five of which were gold. He won an additional seven medals at the World Championships between 1958 and 1962, two of which were gold. His wife Kiyoko also won an Olympic gymnastics bronze medal, in the team all-around in 1964. Ono is now the oldest living Japanese Olympic champion.
