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.
Between today and tomorrow, Oldest Olympians has four milestone birthdays that we want to share and celebrate. Rather than decide which to feature, and feature someone well after their birthday, we have decided to mention all four of them in a single blog post!
First, we want to wish a happy 94th birthday today to sailor Robin Tattersall! Tattersall represented the British Virgin Islands in two editions of the Soling class tournament, placing 21st in 1984 and 17th in 1992. He was the oldest sailing competitor at the latter Games and is now the oldest living survivor of that edition, in addition to being the oldest living competitor for his nation overall. By career he was a surgeon, working for the government until 1973, after which he founded his own clinic. During the 1950s, he had a career as a model and in 2001 he was awarded an OBE for his services to medicine. He has continued to sail and run marathons into his 80s.
Next, we are wishing Monegasque sport shooter Gilbert Scorsolio a happy 92nd birthday today! Scorsolio represented his country in the small-bore rifle three positions, 50 meters and prone, 50 meters events at the 1960 and 1968 Summer Olympics respectively, where he placed joint-61st and 85th respectively. By career, he was in the real estate business and he is now the oldest living Monegasque Olympian.
Tomorrow, French rower Roger Lebranchu will be turning 102! Lebranchu represented France in the coxed eights at the 1948 London Olympics, where the French team finished last in its heats and did not take part in the repêchage. A former prisoner in the Buchenwald and Auschwitz Concentration Camps, he spent two years undertaking harsh physical labour before fleeing during an evacuation near the end of conflict. Earlier this year, he helped carry the Olympic torch as part of the relay in the lead up to the 2024 Paris Games, and he is now the oldest living rowing Olympian.
Finally, Leon Rotman will be turning 90 tomorrow as the oldest living Romanian Olympic champion! Rotman represented his country in three canoeing events across two editions of the Games and won medals in all of them. In 1956 he was a double Olympic champion in the C-1 1000 and C-1 10,000 competitions, while in 1960 he was a bronze medalist in the C-1 1000 tournament. Domestically, he won 14 national titles, and he later worked as a coach.
Today Oldest Olympians is working towards finalizing its 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 begin looking at the many Egyptian participants who meet this definition and, since we ended on wrestlers from Korea, that is where we are going to start with Egypt.
Only one of the wrestlers, Abbas Ahmad, competed in both styles, doing so as a middleweight. In both Greco-Roman and freestyle, he was eliminated in the second round. Ahmad was the Egyptian middleweight, freestyle champion in 1943 and was competing at the senior level by 1938, so his age is likely on the older end of the scale and he is almost certainly deceased, but we have not been able to confirm this. It is also unclear where he was from, as sources have him born in Cairo but competing for an Alexandrian club, which was relatively uncommon at the time.
Kemal Munir was definitely from Cairo, although he was a member of a nearby Giza club, Tersana. He took part in the welterweight, Greco-Roman event and was also eliminated in round two. Also similar to Ahmad, he was competing as early as 1936, albeit as a light-middleweight or middleweight, and seems to have switched his weight class after World War II. In 1959, he was serving as Secretary of the Southern Provinces Wrestling Federation, but we have no information on him past that date.
Our other Cairene wrestler is Ragab El-Zaim, who was eliminated in round two of the light-heavyweight, freestyle category. El-Zaim was competing at the senior level in 1941 and was runner-up at the national championships in 1943. He went on to win a silver medal as a heavyweight at the inaugural Mediterranean Games in 1951, but after that we know no further details.
Our Alexandrian Egyptian is Ibrahim Abdel Hamid, who lasted until the end of round four of the featherweight, freestyle division. A member of the Tram Club, our earliest evidence of him competing only goes back to 1944 and, due to his common name, we have been unable to uncover any more details.
Finally, the competitor about whom we know the least is Mahmud Abdel ‘Aal, who was eliminated in round three of the flyweight, Greco-Roman tournament. Unlikely the others, we do not even know where he was from or have any details on his competitions outside of the Olympics. Thus, we find this to be a good place to end this entry, but we will be back soon with more Egyptian Olympic mysteries!
Today Oldest Olympians is continuing its 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 present the second part of our look at Korean competitors who meet this description.
(Choi Hang-Gi)
Five of the remaining competitors took part in the weightlifting tournament in London. Of them, Lee Gyu-Hyeok got the closest to the podium when he finished fourth in the bantamweight division. Na Si-Yun, meanwhile, would go on to reach the podium at a different major international tournament, taking silver as middleweight at the 1954 Asian Games, after having placed seventh as a lightweight in London. Lee Yeong-Hwan, who was 16th as a lightweight in 1948, also took silver at the 1954 Asian Games, but as a heavyweight. Rounding out the list, Park Dong-Uk, whose name is also seen as Pak Dong-Uk, was 10th as a bantamweight, while Choi Hang-Gi competed in the featherweight category, but did not record a mark in the military press portion and thus did not complete the event. Aside from the details mentioned above, we know nothing about the lives of any of these participants.
The rest of our athletes were all freestyle wrestlers. The most successful was Kim Seok-Yeong, who competed as a lightweight and was eliminated in round four. Kim Kuk-Fan was eliminated in round two of the featherweight division, while Han Sang-Ryong survived to round three in the bantamweight category, but only by virtue of a bye in the first round. As with the weightlifters, we do not have any biographical details on these competitors.
That addresses our Korean Olympic mysteries from 1948, which leaves us with only one more nation to cover from that tournament: Egypt. Since this is our area of specialty, we will be treating those entries with extra attention, and will start publishing them in the near future. We hope that you will join us!
Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Italian sailor Antonio Carattino, born April 2, 1923, died July 3 at the age of 101. Carattino competed in three editions of the Olympic Games, finishing 9th in Dragon class in 1952, and 7th and 5th in the 5.5 metre class in 1956 and 1968 respectively. His entire life was spent on the open water as a sailor, and two of his older brothers, Domenico and Giuseppe, also competed in sailing at the Olympics, with the latter having lived to the age of 95.
(Giacomo Mosele)
At the time of his death, Carattino was the oldest living Italian Olympian, oldest living Olympic sailor, and oldest survivor of the 1968 Mexico City Games. The new oldest living Italian Olympian is Giacomo Mosele, born July 30, 1925, who finished 34th in the 18 kilometers cross-country skiing event at the 1952 Oslo Games. The new oldest living Olympic sailor is Freddy Ehrström, born August 29, 1925, who was 14th in the Star class at the 1960 Rome Games and is also the oldest living Finnish Olympian. Finally, the new oldest survivor of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics is Domini Lawrence, born May 8, 1925, who took part in the equestrian dressage tournament in 1968 and 1972. She is also the oldest survivor of the 1972 Games and the oldest living British Olympian.
