Oldest Olympians was saddened to learn that, during our break, the oldest Olympian, Yvonne Chabot-Curtet, born May 28, 1920, died February 21 at the age of 104. Chabot-Curtet represented her country in the long jump at two editions of the Games, 1948 and 1952, placing 8th and 23rd respectively, and setting an Olympic record in the qualifying round of the former edition. She also came in fourth at the 1950 European Championships in that event and captured five national titles: the long jump and the pentathlon in 1946 and 1949 and an additional long jump title in 1945. Her daughter, Jacqueline, was also a successful long jumper on the national scene, although she did not appear at the Olympics.
(Rhoda Wurtele, pictured in a clip from My Canadian Moment)
The new oldest living Olympian is Canadian alpine skier Rhoda Wurtele-Eaves, born January 21, 1922, who recently turned 103. Both her and her twin sister Rhona, who died in 2020 at the age of 97, reached the top of the national skiing scene, with Rhona competing in the Olympics in 1948 and Rhoda in 1952. In 1948, the already injured Rhona broke her leg near the end of the course and placed last among the finishers, while Rhoda did not compete at all due to an ankle injury. Rhona, meanwhile, did not participate in 1952, while Rhoda had her best finish of ninth in the giant slalom. Both later had careers as ski instructors and were inaugurated into multiple Halls of Fame for their pioneering efforts in the field of Canadian women’s skiing.
Chabot-Curtet held several other distinctions as the oldest living Olympian, including the oldest living French Olympian, the oldest living track and field athlete, and the oldest survivor of the 1948 and 1952 Summer Olympics. The oldest French Olympian and survivor from the 1948 London Games is now cyclist Charles Coste, born February 8, 1924. Coste’s brief amateur career after World War II was quite successful, beginning with his national title in the individual pursuit in 1947. In 1948 he joined Serge Blusson, Fernand Decanali, and Pierre Adam in winning a gold medal in the team pursuit, 4,000 metres event at that year’s London Olympics, and followed that up with an individual pursuit bronze at the World Championships later that year. He then raced as a professional for a decade, notching up several major victories and competing in many more of Europe’s biggest tours. He is also the oldest living Olympic cyclist and the oldest living Olympic champion!
The oldest survivor of the 1952 Helsinki Games, meanwhile, is Gertrude Gries, born October 16, 1924, who we recently added to our tables after it was confirmed that she was still alive at the age of 100! Gries represented her country at two editions of the Summer Olympics, beginning in 1948 when she was sixth with the national team in the all-around. In 1952, the Austrians were tenth in the all-around and ninth in the portable apparatus, while individually her best finish was joint-56th in the uneven bars.
Finally, the oldest living track and field athlete is now Yoshio Iimuro, born January 18, 1925, who recently turned 100! Iimuro represented his country in the triple jump at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where he finished sixth. He had better luck at the Asian Games, where he won that event in 1951 and came in second in 1954. He later had a long career in education, served in several roles as a sports administrator, and authored a book on his experiences. He is also the oldest living Japanese Olympian.
As always, when the oldest Olympian dies, there are many other issues to write about, and we still have to catch up on new developments following the death of the last survivor of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Iris Cummings. We therefore have many blog posts planned for the future and hope that you will join us!