Today we have a new set of Olympic milestone birthdays, so once again we are going to cover both instead of choosing between them!
First, we are wishing Italian race walker Abdon Pamich a happy 93rd birthday as the oldest living Italian Olympic medalist! Pamich represented his country in five consecutive editions of the 50 kilometer race walk from 1956 through 1972. He won the event in 1964 and also took bronze in 1960, just missing a third medal by placing fourth in 1956. He also took the title at the Mediterranean Games in 1955, 1963, and 1971, as well as at the European Championships in 1962 and 1966, coming in second in 1958. He was a 40-time national champion across various distances and later worked as a sports psychologist and coach.
Next, we are wishing a happy 92nd birthday to José Manuel Quina, the oldest living Portuguese Olympic medalist! Quina and his brother Mário took silver in the Star class sailing tournament at the 1960 Rome Games and placed 17th in 1968. José Manuel also competed in the Finn class at the 1972 edition, where he placed 11th, and took part in several editions of the European championships. He continued to compete nationally until 2008.
While we are on the topic of Olympic medalists, we want to mention an Olympic medal mystery that was on our list for a long time, before being solved recently by Connor Mah. Austrian canoer Herbert Wiedermann, born November 1, 1927, won bronze medals in the K-2 1000 event at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics. As discovered by Mah, Wiedermann died May 6, 2014, at the age of 86.