Today Oldest Olympians has three milestone birthdays to celebrate, and thus we have even more reason than usual to discuss them all in a single blog post!
(Ernesto Sastre, pictured at El Magazín Cultural)
First, we are wishing fencer Ernesto Sastre a happy 98th birthday! Sastre represented Colombia in three events at the 1964 Tokyo Games, the individual and team épée, as well as the team foil, but was eliminated in the first round of each of them. He had better luck at the Central American and Caribbean Games, winning bronze and gold with the épée team in 1962 and 1966 respectively. Sastre is the oldest living Colombian Olympian, as well as the oldest survivor of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Next, we are wishing Canadian bobsledder Peter Kirby a happy 93rd birthday! Kirby represented Canada in two events at the 1964 Innsbruck Games, coming in fourth in the two-man, but winning gold in the four-man. Originally a skier, he also won a gold medal at the 1965 World Championships and, by career, was a geologist and businessman. He is now the oldest living Olympic bobsleigh medalist.
Finally, we are wishing a happy 95th birthday to Walter Neville Howell, the oldest living Australian Olympic medalist! Howell represented his country in rowing’s eights event at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where he won a bronze medal. He captured gold in that event at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games and also competed in the coxed pairs at the 1960 Rome Olympics, but was eliminated in the round one repêchage.