(Ásmundur Bjarnason)

Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn of the deaths of two more of the Oldest Olympian titleholders. The first, Icelandic track and field athlete Ásmundur Bjarnason, born February 17, 1927, died February 1 at the age of 96. Ásmundur represented his nation at the 1948 London Olympics, where he was eliminated in round one of the 4×100 metres relay. He made a second Olympic appearance in 1952, where he was eliminated in the opening rounds of the 100 and 200 metres events, as well as the 4×100 metres relay. He also placed fifth in the 200 metres at the 1950 European Championships. Nationally, he won the Icelandic pentathlon title in 1947, the 100 metres crown in 1954, and the 200 metres championship in 1954 and 1955. At the time of his death, Ásmundur was the oldest living Icelandic Olympian. That distinction now goes to Jakobína Jakobsdóttir, born November 21, 1932, who represented her country in three alpine skiing events at the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Games.

(Cees Koch)

Next, Dutch canoeist Cees Koch, born December 30, 1925, died February 13 at the age of 98. Koch represented his country in three events across two editions of the Games, 1948 and 1952, with a best finish of sixth in the K-2 10,000 in 1948. He also competed at the 1954 World Championships and was a multiple national champion. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Dutch Olympian, given that we will be removing Dutch swimmer Lies Bonnier, born July 8, 1925, from our list, as we last heard from her in 2012. This means that footballer Kees Rijvers, born May 27, 1926, who took part in the tournament at the 1948 London Games, is now the oldest living Dutch Olympian.

(Neville Howell)

Finally, we mentioned a few days ago that Australian rower Garth Manton, born December 16, 1929, died February 1 at the age of 94 as the oldest living Australian Olympic medalist. That distinction now goes to his teammate in the eights, Neville Howell, who was born one day later on December 17, 1929.