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 72nd birthday in 1995.