Today on Oldest Olympians, we are finalizing 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 are looking into Olympians who were born in 1936, and we have six names in this category.

The first is Bulgarian gymnast Todor Bachvarov, born January 8, 1936. Bachvarov represented his country in the tournaments at the 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympics, placing 11^th and 10^th with the team respectively. Individually, his best finish was joint-42^nd in the parallel bars in 1960. This is all that we know about him, except that someone added a year of death of 2021 to his Wikipedia page, but without a source.

Next we have Mexican cyclist Luis Muciño, born April 24, 1936. Muciño represented his country in the sprint and tandem sprint events at the 1960 Rome Games, and was eliminated in the round one repêchage final and the round one repêchage respectively. His son César competed on the track at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and died in an accident in 2003, but as for Luis, someone added a date of death of October 2, 2015 to his Wikipedia page, but again without a source.

Next we have Malaysian sport shooter Edmund Yong, born July 3, 1936. Yong represented his country in the skeet shooting event at the 1976 Montreal Games, where he placed 64^th. He was better known for his achievements in golf, and he served as the Secretary-General of the Asia Pacific Golf Federation from 1977 to 1996. Someone added a date of death of July 9, 1997 to his Wikipedia page, yet again without a source.

Then we have Wong Chi-Keung Taiwanese footballer, born July 8, 1936. Wong represented his country, competing as “Formosa”, at the 1960 Rome Games, where it was eliminated in the preliminary round. He had much better luck at the 1958 Asian Games, as he took home a gold medal, and he was third and fourth at the 1960 and 1968 Asian Cups respectively. Domestically, he won four national titles with the Asian All Stars (1965-68). We found a memorial for an individual by this name and year of birth who died October 27, 2010 and was buried in Hong Kong, but we could not verify that it was the footballer.

Up next is Australia track and field athlete Valerie Lawrence, born August 5, 1936. Lawrence represented her country in the shot put and discus throw at the 1956 Melbourne Games, placing 13^th and 21^st respectively. She was the Australian national champion in the shot put from 1952 through 1954. She later took the married name “Melville”, and while we found an obituary notice in the Ryerson Index for a Valerie Melville who died December 31, 2008 at the correct age, we could not obtain a copy to check if it was the Olympian.

Finally, we have Japanese rower Yasukuni Watanabe, born October 22, 1936. Watanabe represented his country in the eights at the 1956 Melbourne Games and was eliminated in the semi-finals. We do know that he was alive recently, but we also uncovered an obituary of someone by this name who died January 7, 2024 at the correct age. Unfortunately, it did not contain information about an Olympic career. That is the conclusion of our recent Olympic mysteries series for now, but we hope that you will join us next time for a new topic!

Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Egyptian rower Wagih El-Attar, born February 22, 1928, died July 29 at the age of 98. El-Attar represented his country in the coxed fours rowing event at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where Egypt was eliminated in the round one repêchage. He had better luck at the 1955 Mediterranean Games, where he captured bronze in the coxed pairs.

(Abdel Aziz El-Shafei)

At the time of his death, El-Attar was the oldest living Egyptian Olympian. That distinction now goes to Abdel Aziz El-Shafei, born December 8, 1931. El-Shafei represented his country in the water polo tournament at the 1952 and 1960 Summer Games, as well as the 100 metres freestyle swimming competition at the former edition. He won silver in that event at the 1955 Mediterranean Games, as well as silver in the water polo tournament and bronze in the 4×200 metres freestyle relay at the 1951 edition. After his retirement from active competition he remained active as a referee and administrator, and was awarded the Olympic Order in Silver in 1984.

Finally, we have an update to an older Olympic mystery from Egypt, that of boxer Ezz El-Din Nasir. Nasir represented his country in the lightweight event at the 1948 London Games, where he was eliminated in round one. Previously, we knew little else about him, but we were able to discover that he had a career in the Egyptian Air Force and was shot down and killed on April 5, 1963 while serving during the North Yemen Civil War.

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!

(Tattersall, pictured at Horizon Yacht Charters)

First, we want to wish a happy 96^th 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 94^th 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, Canada ice hockey player Jack McKenzie will be turning 96! McKenzie represented his country in the tournament at the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Games, where he won a bronze medal. He was active in the amateur ranks from 1947 through 1959, and won a gold medal at the World Championships in 1958. He later worked as a high school teacher. He is now the oldest living Canadian Olympic medalist!

Finally, Leon Rotman will be turning 92 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.

Finally, we wanted to update our information on José Flores, who represented the Netherlands Antilles in the middle-heavyweight weightlifting division at the 1960 Rome Games, where he placed 14^th. He was the silver medalist in that category at the 1963 Pan American Games, and set two world records in 1963-64. We noted him as last confirmed living in 2014, and Connor Mah discovered that he was actually born December 22, 1936 and died January 9, 2017.

Due to travel-related issues, we were unable to post Oldest Olympians yesterday, so today we are going to make up for that with two updates!

(Jindřich Mikulec)

First, Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Czech gymnast Jindřich Mikulec, born May 11, 1928, died July 7 at the age of 98. Mikulec represented his country in the tournament at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where he was seventh with the team and had a best finish of joint-24^th individually in the floor exercise. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Olympian to have represented Czechoslovakia. That distinction now goes to one of Mikulec’s teammates, Ferdinand Daniš, born January 7, 1929.

Next, we have two milestone birthdays to celebrate, beginning with Jamaican track athlete Hyacinth Walters, who is turning 100! Walters represented her country in the 100 and 200 metres track events at the 1952 Helsinki Games, but was eliminated in the first round of both. She had much more success at the Central American and Caribbean Games, winning seven medals, three of which were gold, between 1946 and 1954. She later became a teacher and is now the oldest living Jamaican Olympian!

Finally, we are wishing a happy 98^th birthday to Hans Andersson-Tvilling, the oldest living Olympic ice hockey medalist! Andersson-Tvilling won bronze for his country at the 1952 Oslo Games and just missed a second medal in 1956 after Sweden lost the bronze medal match to Canada. He won the World Championships in 1953, also taking silver in in 1951, and captured European Championship titles in 1951 and 1953, in addition to bronze in 1955. Domestically, he was a four-time national Swedish champion with Djurgårdens IF. His twin brother Stig had a similar record in the sport, including the Olympic bronze.

Today on Oldest Olympians we have the same two milestone birthdays to celebrate as last year so, as usual, we are covering them both in a blog entry!

(Cheng Chi-Sen at Chineseoverseas.org)

First we are wishing Taiwanese sport shooter Cheng Chi-Sen a happy 100^th birthday! Cheng represented his country in the free pistol, 50 metres events at the 1968 Mexico City Games, where he placed 56^th. A police officer by career, he also competed at the 1966 Asian Games and later moved to San Francisco, where he ran a catering business. He is now the oldest survivor of the 1968 Summer Olympics, the oldest Olympian to have represented Chinese Taipei, and the oldest Olympic sport shooter!

(Akın Altıok from a Youtube video)

Next, we are wishing Akın Altıok a happy 94^rd birthday as the oldest living Turkish Olympian! Altıok represented his country in the triple jump at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where he was eliminated in the qualifying round. One year earlier, he had won that event at the 1951 Mediterranean Games.

We also want to mention an Olympic mystery that we meant to cover previously, that of Dave Chapman, born August 21, 1936. Chapman represented his country in the steeplechase at the 1960 Rome Games, where he was eliminated in round one. He never won a national title, but was runner-up in the 3000 metres steeplechase in 1960 and 1962. According to the England and Wales Death Index, an individual of his full name who was born August 21, 1935 died in 1972 in Kent, but we have no definitive evidence as to whether or not this was the Olympian, with just his birth one year off.

Today on Oldest Olympians, we want to cover two milestone birthdays and two deaths among the oldest Olympian titleholders. While normally we would hope to split these topics up, the unfortunate number of deaths means that we want to cover all of them before the news gets too old.

First, however, the birthdays, beginning with the oldest Irish Olympian, Harry Byrne, who is turning 97! Byrne represented his country in Dragon-class sailing at the 1972 Munich Games, where he placed 16^th. This was just a small part of a long career full of domestic successes and international appearances, such as the 1973 European Championships.

(Hasenjäger, pictured far left, in the Life Photo Collection)

The oldest South African Olympian, Daphne Robb-Hasenjäger, is also turning 97 today! Hasenjäger began her career in the aftermath of World War II as Daphne Robb. Her first major international appearance came at the 1948 London Olympics, where she was eliminated in the semifinals of the 100 metres and placed sixth in the 200 metres. In 1949 she ran the 100 yards in 10.7 seconds, then a world record, but it was not recognized due to assistance from the wind. Robb’s achievements became more notable in the 1950s, as she won a bronze medal in the 220 yards event at the 1950 British Empire Games and then, after marrying a fellow athlete and becoming Daphne Hasenjäger, earned a silver medal in the 100 metres at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Moving on to the recently deceased, Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Mahmoud Mollaghasemi, born April 5, 1929, died June 30 at the age of 97. Mollaghasemi represented his country in the flyweight, freestyle event at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where he won a bronze medal. He also earned a silver medal in that event at the 1951 World Championships. He later turned to coaching and was a judge at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. At the time of his death, Mollaghasemi was the oldest living Iranian Olympian; that distinction now goes to Mohamed Bayati, born May 5, 1932, who represented his country in the football tournament at the 1964 Tokyo Games.

Oldest Olympians is also saddened to learn that Tan Liong Houw, born July 26, 1930, died June 29 at the age of 95. 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. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Indonesian Olympian, a title that now passes to Tan Tjong Sian, born April 26, 1931, who represented his country in Flying Dutchman-class sailing at the 1968 Mexico City Games.

Finally, while we are reporting on deaths, we have an update for 1948 South Korean hammer thrower Gin Gang-Hwan, born January 7, 1917. Connor Mah has discovered that his name was actually In Gang-Hwan, and that he died July 14, 1994, at the age of 77.

Today on Oldest Olympians we have the same two milestone birthdays as previous years, so we are continuing our tradition of providing one blog post to cover both in lieu of choosing between them!

(John De Saram, pictured at the Daily News)

First, we are wishing Sri Lankan track athlete John De Saram a happy 97^th birthday! De Saram represented his country at the 1948 London Olympics, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals and round one of the 200 and 400 metres events respectively. He also competed at the 1950 British Empire Games, where his best finish was fourth in the 4×110 yards relay. He later had a lengthy career with the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs and the International Law Commission, and served as his country’s ambassador to the United Nations from 1998 to 2002. He is now the oldest living Sri Lankan Olympian!

(Don Sheff, pictured in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on December 19, 1952)

Secondly, we want to wish American swimmer Don Sheff a happy 95^rd birthday! Sheff represented the United States in the 4×200 metres freestyle relay at the 1952 Helsinki Games, which won gold. Because he only swam in the heats, however, he did not receive an actual medal due to the rules of the time. He did, however, win several medals at the 1950 Maccabiah Games. Despite not winning a physical medal, he still competed, and thus we consider him the oldest living Olympic swimming champion!

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.