Mystery Competitors from 1932

Continuing from the previous blog post, following the death of Iris Cummings as the last known survivor of any pre-World War II Olympics, today Oldest Olympians is looking at Olympians who competed at the 1932 Games. There are actually fewer Olympians than from 1928 who we could not find confirmation of their being deceased, although two of them have a known date of birth and could still possibly be alive. With that said, as all competitors would have had to be teenagers or younger during the Games, it is unlikely that any remain alive.

First, Hatsuko Morioka, born June 22, 1915, represented Japan in four swimming events across two editions of the Games – 1932 and 1936 – with a best finish of fifth with her nation in the 4×100 metres freestyle relay. She was a four-time national champion in the 400 metres freestyle, but she retired from active competition at the onset of World War II. While some sources claim that she was alive at the age of 100, we have seen no evidence that confirms this.

Second, Misao Yokota, born February 3, 1917, represented Japan in the same relay, as well as in the 100 metres backstroke, in 1932. She was a two-time champion in the latter event, 1932-1933, and made some professional appearances prior to World War II. She was still alive in 2001, but we have no evidence of what happened to her after that. Finally, below are the 23 competitors from 1932 for whom we lack even a year of birth, but also evidence of their death.

(Hwang Eul-Su, Korean boxer)

NameNotes
Toru AraiArt competitor from Japan in Painting
Vicente AraujoReserve for Brazil’s 4×400 metres relay team
Abelardo CuevasArt competitor from Japan in Music
DaemersArt competitor from Belgium in Sculpturing
Valère De MoerArt competitor from Belgium in Sculpturing
DeryckArt competitor from Belgium in Architecture
D. DumortierArt competitor from Belgium in Painting
Hélène GérardArt competitor from Belgium in Painting
Hwang Eul-SuKorean lightweight boxer
Franz JanischReserve with the Austrian weightlifting delegation
Eiichi KawasakiArt competitor from Japan in Sculpturing
Jay MaddoxArt competitor from the United States in Painting
Jeronimo MariaNon-starter for Brazil in the 5,000 metres event
Kiyoshi MuraiReserve with Japan’s water polo squad
Rogelio PazquezArt competitor from Cuba in Music
Rafael PérezNon-starter for Cuba in the high and long jumps
Jorge PessoaReserve with Brazil’s water polo squad
Marcel PrévostArt competitor from Belgium in Painting
Tomotari SakuraiArt competitor from Japan in Painting
Elise SwansonArt competitor from the United States in Music
Isamu ToyofujiArt competitor from Japan in Painting
Domingos TrevisanNon-starter for Brazil in the javelin throw
Anna Van NuffelArt competitor from Belgium in Sculpturing

Our final post in this series will look into the 1936 Games, and once again we hope that you will join us!

One thought on “Mystery Competitors from 1932”

  1. El jugador de waterpolo Jorge Carmelo (segundo nombre) Pessoa Da Conceicao (apellido materno) nació el 6 de septiembre de 1906 en Recife estado de Pernambuco y falleció el 3 de mayo de 1979 en Recife estado de Pernambuco a los 72 años, fue suplente.

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