Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Richard Schoon, born June 23, 1928, died January 11 at the age of 97. Schoon represented Singapore in the field hockey tournament at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where his nation was eliminated in the preliminary round and placed eighth overall. He retired from active competition in 1970 and later worked as an umpire and administrator.

(Lionel Chee, pictured at The Straits Times)

At the time of his death, Schoon was the oldest living Olympian to have represented Singapore and the oldest living Olympic field hockey player. The former distinction now goes to Lionel Chee, born August 4, 1931, who represented his country in the water polo tournament at the same Games, where Singapore placed 10^th overall. The new titleholder in the latter category is Desmond Spackman, born January 4, 1929. Spackman represented Australia in the tournament at the same Games, as well as in 1960, and placed fifth and sixth respectively.

(Jean Rivière)

Finally, thanks to Connor Mah, we can confirm that one previous Olympic mystery is not the new titleholder for the oldest living Olympic field hockey player. Several years ago, we discussed Albert Piaget, born April 13, 1928, who we suspected had died in October 2009, but we could not prove it. We now know that this 1960 field hockey competitor did die in that month. In other field hockey updates, Mah also discovered that the 1928 French player that has been listed as Jacques Rivière was actually Jean Rivière, born January 4, 1908 and died August 19, 1988.

Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Brazilian sport shooter Edmar de Salles, born June 15, 1928, died April 14 at the age of 97. Salles represented his country in the small-bore rifle three positions and prone events at the 1968 Mexico City Games, placing 55^th and 34^th respectively. He had better luck at the Pan American Games, taking bronze in in the three positions team and the prone team at the 1963 and 1975 editions respectively.

At the time of his death, Salles was the oldest living Brazilian Olympian. That distinction now goes to Harry Adler, born September 21, 1928. Adler represented his country in the Star class at the 1964 Tokyo Games, where he placed 11^th. He also had better luck at the 1963 Pan American Games, as he took bronze in that event. Additionally, he won Soling class bronze at the 1974 South American Championships.

Finally, we have a small update to a previously featured Olympic mystery: Swiss sailor Alfons Oswald. A few years ago, Connor Mah was able to find a date of birth for this 1948 competitor of May 4, 1914. Thanks to his further research, we now also know that Oswald died September 19, 2005 at the age of 91.

Today on Oldest Olympians, we have two updates to Olympic centenarians. First, we were hoping to wish Günther Haase a happy 101^st birthday as the oldest living German Olympian. Haase represented his country at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where he won a bronze medal in platform diving. Two years earlier, he had won that event at the 1950 European Championships, and in total he collected eight national titles between 1943 and 1956. He later moved to the United States with his wife, also a German national champion in diving.

(Walter Konrad)

Unfortunately, we were unable to locate confirmation of his 100^th birthday over the past year, and thus we have had to remove him from our tables. This leaves Walter Konrad, born July 4, 1928, as the oldest living German Olympian. Konrad represented his country in the 10,000 metres track event at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where he placed 13^th. The oldest living German Olympic medalist, meanwhile, is Fritz Nachmann, born August 16, 1929. Nachmann represented (West) Germany in three luging events across two editions of the Games, 1964 and 1968, winning bronze in the doubles in 1968.

Then, Oldest Olympians was saddened to learn that Yulen Uralov, born November 23, 1924, died earlier this month at the age of 101. Uralov represented the Soviet Union in individual and team foil at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where he was eliminated in the quarter-finals and round one respectively. He was the Soviet foil champion in 1952 and 1953, and later turned to coaching.

(Ninel Krutova)

At the time of his death, Uralov was the oldest living Soviet Olympian, oldest living Olympic fencer, and oldest survivor of the 1952 Helsinki Games. The first distinction now goes to Ninel Krutova, born January 3, 1926, who represented the Soviet Union in five diving events across three editions of the Games, 1952-1960, and won bronze on the platform in 1960. The oldest living Olympic fencer is now Carmen Vall, born June 17, 1926, who was eliminated in the first round of the individual foil in 1960. Finally, the oldest survivor of the 1952 Helsinki Olympics is now Colette Fanara, born February 15, 1925, who competed in the gymnastics tournament with a best individual finish of 85^th in the uneven bars.

One name that was no longer in contention for being the oldest survivor of the Helsinki Games is Korean equestrian Min Byeong-Seon, born in 1919. We had Min listed previously as possibly living, as we did not have a date of death, but thanks to Connor Mah we now know that he died December 14, 1970. In the realm of fencing, we were also able to confirm that Jacques Ben Gualid, born May 3, 1918, who represented Morocco in three events at the 1960 Rome Games, did die on May 3, 1976 in Toronto.

Today on Oldest Olympians, we are continuing our look into new Olympic missing links. These are individuals for whom we have suggestions for a date or year of death, but for whom we cannot confirm the information through reliable sources. Today, we have another four names to look into.

First we have Pakistani field hockey player Khawaja Muhammad Taqi, born in 1918. Taqi represented his country in the tournament at the 1948 London Games, where Pakistan lost the bronze medal match to the Netherlands and placed fourth. He later worked as a coach, and while Wikipedia has listed him as dying in both July 1967 and 1968, we have not found a confirmed date of death.

Next we have Tunisian fencer Raoul Barouch, born May 12, 1916. Barouch represented his country in the individual event of each discipline at the 1960 Rome Games, but was eliminated in the first round every time. Several versions of Wikipedia list his date of death as October 17, 2006 and his place of death as Jerusalem, but we have no reliable sources to verify these facts.

Then, we have Indian cyclist Suchha Singh, born July 21, 1933. Singh represented his country in the sprint at the 1964 Tokyo Games, where he was eliminated in the round one repêchage. He was noted as still being alive in a 2022 article, but someone added a date of death of March 20, 2023 to his Wikipedia page. Unfortunately, they did not include a source that we could check to confirm this.

Finally, we have South Korean speed skater Jo Yun-Sik, born July 24, 1931. Jo represented his country in the 500 and 1000 metres events at the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Games, placing joint-34^th and joint-42^nd respectively. He was later involved heavily in the administration of the sport in his country, and was still alive in 2018. Korean Wikipedia has a date of death of January 28, 2020, but with no source, and we could not locate one ourselves.

Today on Oldest Olympians we have the same two milestone birthdays as the past three years, so we are again continuing our trend of covering both in a single blog post rather than choosing between them!

First, we want to wish a happy 96^th birthday to Miguel Seijas, the oldest living Uruguayan Olympian! Seijas represented his country in the double sculls at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Games, winning bronze in the former and being eliminated in the round one repêchage in the latter.

Second, Chiharu Igaya is turning 95 as Japan’s oldest Olympic medalist! Igaya represented his country in nine alpine skiing events across three editions of the Games – 1952, 1956, and 1960 – and won a silver medal in the slalom in 1956. He also took bronze at the World Championships in that event in 1958. By career he worked in insurance, but also served in sport administration, most notably as a member of the IOC since 1982.

(Lee Sang-Cheol)

Finally, we want to thank the reader who found evidence that French track athlete Jocelyn Delecour, born January 2, 1935, who we covered in our last post, was still alive at his 90^th birthday. On the opposite end, Connor Mah was able to confirm that the Lee Sang-Cheol who died in October 2018 was the Olympian who was born November 1, 1935 and represented South Korea in the marathon at the 1960 Rome Olympics. He also discovered that track athlete Lee Yun-seok, who represented South Korea in two events in London in 1948, was born in 1924, and thus could still be living, even if it is unlikely. This is not true of Mah’s other athletics discovery, which was for Swiss athlete Ernst Günther, who competed in the 5000 metres at the London Games, and was apparently born in 1914.

Today on Oldest Olympians, we are blogging about a subject that we have not discussed in some time: Olympic medal mysteries. These are individuals who won medals at the Games and would be over the age of 90, but for whom we have been unable to locate evidence as to whether they are alive or deceased.

The first is Pakistani field hockey player Bashir Ahmed, born December 23, 1934. Ahmed represented his country in the tournament at the 1960 Rome Olympics, where he won a gold medal. He earned another victory with the team at the 1962 Asian Games. Despite these achievements, we have been unable to ascertain further information on Ahmed, perhaps because of his relatively common name.

Next we have Danish sailor Ole Gunnar Petersen, born December 30, 1934. Petersen represented his country in the Flying Dutchman class, alongside Hans Fogh, at two editions of the Games, 1960 and 1964, winning silver in the former and coming in fourth at the latter. Despite these achievements, as well his partnership with one of the most well-known Olympic sailors, we have been unable to find more about Petersen, again possibly due to his relatively common name.

Finally, we are featuring French track athlete Jocelyn Delecour, born January 2, 1935. Delecour represented his country in eight events across four editions of the Games, 1956-1968, winning bronze in the 4×100 metres relay in 1964 and 1968. He was European champion in that event in 1966, and also took bronze in the 200 metres and silver in the 100 metres in 1958 and 1962. A silver medalist in the relay at the 1963 Mediterranean Games, he was also an eight-time French national champion across various disciplines and later served on the administrative role in the sport. Delecour does not appear in the French national death index, so we suspect that he is likely still alive, but we have not seen a source that confirms this.

Over the past week, Oldest Olympians has learned about three deaths among the oldest Olympian titleholders. We are therefore dedicating a blog entry to covering all of them and their successors.

(Gordon Ingate)

The first is Australian sailor Gordon Ingate, born March 29, 1926, who died April 24 at the age of 100. Ingate represented his country in the Tempest class at the 1972 Munich Games, where he placed 19^th. That same year, he was runner-up to Ted Turner in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, but he continued competing in national championships into his 90s, even winning a Dragon class title in 2018 at the age of 91. At the time of his death, Ingate was the oldest living Australian Olympian, a title that now goes to Bryan Harper, born July 12, 1927, who represented his country in two canoe sprint events at the 1956 Melbourne Games.

On the same day, Soviet weightlifter Rudolf Plyukfelder, born September 6, 1928, also died. Plyukfelder represented his country in the light-heavyweight division at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, where he won the gold medal. He was also World Champion in 1959, 1961, and 1964, and European Champion from 1959-1961. Domestically, he won the Soviet title from 1958 through 1963. Following his retirement from active competition, he turned to coaching.

(Jim George)

At the time of his death, Plyukfelder was the oldest living Soviet Olympic champion and weightlifting medalist. For the former title, the new holder is Vitaly Kovalenko, born March 17, 1934, who won a gold medal with the Soviet volleyball team at the 1964 Tokyo Games. In the latter category, the only living Olympic weightlifting medalist over the age of 90 that we know of is Jim George, born June 1, 1935. George represented the United States as a light-heavyweight, winning bronze in 1956 and silver in 1960.

Finally, Canadian equestrian Tom Gayford, born November 21, 1928, died April 26 at the age of 97. Gayford represented Canada in the three-day event at the 1952 and 1960 Summer Olympics without reaching the podium. In 1968 in Mexico City, however, he switched to jumping and won the gold medal with the Canadian team. He also won three medals at the Pan American Games and gold at the 1971 World Championships. He later became an equestrian coach and judge, and also designed the jumping course for the 1976 Montreal Games.

(Harry Boldt)

At the time of his death, Gayford was the oldest living Olympic champion in equestrian and the oldest living Canadian Olympic medalist. For the former title, the new holder is Harry Boldt, born February 23, 1930, who won dressage team gold and individual silver for (West) Germany at the 1964 Tokyo and 1976 Montreal Games. For the latter, the new holder is Jack McKenzie, born July 22, 1930, who took bronze in the ice hockey tournament at the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Games. The new oldest living Canadian Olympic champion, however, is Peter Kirby, born December 17, 1931, who was part of the winning four-man bobsleigh team at the 1964 Innsbruck Games.

While we are on the topic of Olympic weightlifters, we wanted to mention an update provided to us on an Olympian that we have mentioned previously, Na Si-Yun. Na took silver as middleweight at the 1954 Asian Games, after having placed seventh as a lightweight at the 1948 London Olympics. We previously had no biographical data on Na, but thanks to Connor Mah we learned that he was born in 1920, making him possibly still alive (although this is very unlikely).

Today on Oldest Olympians, we were hoping to celebrate the 101^st birthday of German swimmer Erna Herbers. Herbers represented her country in the 100 metres backstroke at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where she placed 18^th. Unfortunately, we have not been able to confirm her 100^th birthday in over a year, and thus we must remove her from our tables pending additional information.

(Walter Konrad)

We believed that Herbers was the oldest living German Olympian, as well as the oldest living Olympic swimmer. The former title in theory goes to Günther Haase, born June 11, 1925, who won a bronze medal in platform diving at the same Games. Unfortunately, we do not have 100^th birthday confirmation for him either, which means that he too will soon be removed from our tables. This would leave Walter Konrad, born July 4, 1928, as the oldest living German Olympian. Konrad represented his country in the 10,000 metres track event at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where he placed 13^th.

The latter title now goes to Gail Peters, born June 23, 1929. Peters represented the United States in the 200 metres breaststroke at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where she placed 25^th. She won several national titles in her youth, then returned as a master’s swimmer and dominated her events for over a decade, winning 30 titles.

Finally, while we are on the topic, we also have a German Olympic mystery. Hinrich John, born May 11, 1936, represented (West) Germany in the 110 metres hurdles at the 1964 and 1968 Summer Games, being eliminated in the semifinals both times. He was a silver medalist in that event at the 1966 European Championships, and won the national title five times from 1964 through 1968. One website lists a year of death for him as 2018, but the reliability of the source is unclear and we can find no additional evidence indicating whether he is alive or deceased.

Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Portuguese gymnast Joaquim Granger, born May 31, 1928, died April 17 at the age of 97. Granger represented his country in the tournament at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where he was 23rd with his team in the all-around and had a best individual finish of 107th on the rings. He later worked as a physical education professor.

At the time of his death, Granger was the oldest living Portuguese Olympian. That distinction now goes to António Martins, born July 10, 1930. Martins represented his country in the rapid-fire pistol shooting event at the 1960 Rome Games, where he placed 50^th. He is better known in Portugal as a pediatric surgeon who pioneered techniques in separating conjoined twins.

Finally, we have an update on another Irish Olympic mystery. Connor Mah was able to confirm that footballer Mick Farrell, who represented Ireland in the tournament at the 1924 Paris Games, was born February 7, 1900 and did die on July 14, 1968.

Today on Oldest Olympians we have two milestone birthdays, so, yet again, rather than choose between them, we have decided to cover both in a single blog post!

The first is Cees Gravesteijn, the oldest living Dutch Olympian, who is turning 98 today! Gravesteijn represented his country in the K-2 1000 canoeing event at the 1948 London Games, where he placed sixth alongside his teammate Wim Pool. He was a member of Kanovereniging De Zwetplassers.

The second is Robin Dixon, the oldest living British Olympic champion, who is 91 today! Dixon represented his country in four events across two editions of the Games, 1964 and 1968, and won gold in the two-man in 1964 with Tony Nash. He also won that event at the 1965 World Championships, along with bronze in 1963 and 1966. A member of the nobility, he entered politics in the 1990s and became Robin Dixon, 3rd Baron Glentoran following the death of his father in 1995.

Finally, we have an update on an older Olympic mystery. A relative of Irish fencer Tom Smith, who competed in the individual and team foil fencing events at the 1948 London Games, was able to confirm the Olympian’s biographical details to Connor Mah. Smith was born on February 23, 1923 and died on his 72^nd birthday in 1995.