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. Since we looked at one Czechoslovakian Olympian in the last post, today we have decided to look at the rest from the London Games.

First, we want to mention two members from the 1948 Czechoslovakian rowing delegation, Josef Kalaš and Karel Vaněk. Both were members of the coxless fours squad that was eliminated in the round one repêchage, which consisted of members of ČVK Praha. Both were also members of the Czechoslovakian crew that won a silver medal in the eights at the 1949 European Championships but, aside from that, we know nothing about either.

There are also two members of Czechoslovakia’s wrestling delegation that remain unknown to us. Jan Stehlík took part in the featherweight, Greco-Roman tournament and withdrew after losing his round one match. Václav Tuhý, meanwhile, competed in the lightweight, Greco-Roman competition, and also withdrew after round one. Tuhý was the Czech champion in this event in 1945, 1946, and 1949, while Stehlík’s only featherweight, Greco-Roman title came in 1952.

Finally, Svatopluk Skýva represented Czechoslovakia in sabre fencing as both an individual and with the team. In both events, he was eliminated in the quarter-finals. We know a fair amount about Skýva, as he was a national sabre champion, a professor at the Prague Conservatory, a theatre producer, and an author. Despite this, we do not have any information about his birth or death, or whether he is still alive.