(Jack Whitford)

Earlier this month, we were planning on featuring British gymnast Jack Whitford, born January 3, 1924, on his 100^th birthday. Whitford competed in the gymnastics tournament at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where he finished 21st with the British team and had a best individual finish of joint-39th in the pommeled horse. This was the only Olympic appearance for the four-time British champion, but his half-brother Arthur competed in the same sport in 1928 and his wife Pat Evans (also among the oldest living Olympians prior to her death in 2020) was part of the British women’s team in 1948.

(Domini Lawrence)

In addition to turning 100, we also believed that Whitford was the oldest living British Olympian. We discovered, however, that he actually died on June 5, 2023, at the age of 99. Thus we now believe that equestrian Domini Lawrence, born May 8, 1925, who was already the oldest living Olympian to have competed at the 1972 Munich Games, is now the holder of that title. Lawrence represented Great Britain in two Olympic dressage tournaments: in 1968 she was fifth with the team and 11th individually, while in 1972 she was 10th with the team and 33rd individually. She later became a distinguished judge with the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, serving until her retirement in 1998.

(Carl-Erik Asplund)

Additionally, oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Swedish speed skater Carl-Erik Asplund, born September 14, 1923, died January 8 at the age of 100. Asplund took part in three events at the 1952 Oslo Games, winning bronze in the 10,000 metres, just missing the podium at fourth in the 1,500 metres, and coming in sixth in the 5,000 metres. Although he had some success at the European and World Championships, in addition to his nine national titles, his career was limited to the first half of the 1950s.

At the time of his death, Asplund was both the oldest living Swedish Olympian and the oldest living Olympic speed skater. The former title now goes to equestrian Maud von Rosen, born December 24, 1925, who won a bronze medal in team dressage at the 1972 Munich Games. The latter is now held by Yury Sergeyev, born July 16, 1925, who represented the Soviet Union in the 500 metres event at the 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics and placed fourth. The only other Olympian over the age of 90 to have won a speed skating medal is Norwegian Knut Johannesen, born November 6, 1933, who has five of them – two gold, two silver, and one bronze – across three editions, 1956-1964.

As 2023 has come to end we have, as usual, several blog posts to wrap the year up. Today we wanted to focus on the last few Oldest Olympian titleholders who died in the previous year and their successors.

(Franz Zigon, pictured at OÖLSV)

First, we learned that Austrian water polo player Franz Zigon, born March 9, 1924, died back in July at the age of 99. Zigon represented Austria as a member of its water polo delegation to the 1952 Helsinki Games, where the nation was eliminated in the preliminary round. Zigon had also qualified for the 1948 London Olympics, but Austria did not ultimately send its team. At home he was a multiple national champion, despite having had his career interrupted by World War II, where he was injured serving in the infantry. He retired in 1960, but eventually returned to the pool to compete at the masters’ level, which continued to do into his 90s. By career he was a radio technician and, at the time of his death, he was the oldest living Austrian Olympian and Olympic water polo player. His successor in the former category is Egon Schöpf, born October 16, 1925, who competed in three alpine skiing events across two editions of the Games: 1948 and 1952. For the latter title, the new holder is Edson Perri, born June 5, 1928, who represented Brazil in the tournament at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

(Ingrid Wigernæs)

Next, Norwegian cross-country skier Ingrid Wigernæs, born February 22, 1928, died December 2 at the age of 95. Wigernæs took part in three cross-country skiing events across two editions of the Winter Olympics, finishing 27th in the 10 km in 1956 and joint-15th and 12th in the 5 and 10 km events respectively in 1964. She won several national titles over the course of her career, but her biggest international success came at the 1966 World Championships, where she was a member of the 3×5 km relay squad that took silver. She later turned to coaching, with her most notable success in that realm coming from her mentorship over the 3×5 km relay team that took gold at the 1968 Grenoble Games. Wigernæs was the oldest living Norwegian Olympian and Olympian to have competed at the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics at the time of her death. The oldest living Norwegian Olympian is now Dagny Jørgensen, born March 22, 1929, who took part in two alpine skiing events at the 1952 Oslo Games. The oldest survivor of the 1964 Innsbruck Games, meanwhile, is Argentina’s Héctor Tomasi, born July 5, 1928, who also competed in 1948 and 1952.

(Jo Bernardo)

Then, French swimmer Jo Bernardo, born May 31, 1929, died December 6 at the age of 94. Bernardo represented his country at two editions of the Games, in 1948 and 1952, winning bronze medals in the 4×200 metres relay both times. He also set a world record in this event in 1951, and captured a gold and silver medal in it at the 1951 Mediterranean Games and 1950 European Championships respectively. Moreover, he earned bronze in the 1,500 metres competition at the latter tournament. He retired after the 1954 season and later worked as a sports administrator. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Olympic swimming medalist, a title that now goes to Australian Nancy Lyons, born April 12, 1930, who won a silver medal in the 200 metres breaststroke at the 1948 London Games and also competed in that event in 1952.

(Norman Shutt, from a video at Youtube)

Finally, we were informed by a family member that British biathlete and cross-country skier Norman Shutt, born November 9, 1929, died back on February 12, 2022 at the age of 92. Shutt was 20th in the 20 kilometers biathlon and 52nd in the 15 kilometers cross-country skiing event at the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics. By career, he served in both the military and the police force and, at the time of his death, he was the oldest living Olympic biathlete. Only recently did we have another biathlete turn 90: Larry Damon, born December 8, 1933, who represented the United States in that sport in 1960, and in cross-country skiing in 1956, 1964, and 1968.

(Dennis Kemp, pictured at Hockey Australia)

Today on Oldest Olympians we wanted to cover two Australian field hockey Olympians who died in November: Dennis Kemp and Mike Craig. Kemp, born July 28, 1931, represented his country in the tournament at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where the Australians placed fifth. A member of the Perth Hockey Club, he had made his début with the national squad in 1954 and would remain active in the sport as either a player or coach through 1980. He was also selected for the 1960 Rome Games, but was unable to attend. He died November 17 at the age of 92.

(Mike Craig, pictured at Hockey Australia)

Mike Craig, born February 7, 1931, was able to make the trip, however, where Australia ranked sixth. Outside of his playing career, he was known for his contributions to the administrative side of the sport and was awarded several times for his work in this field. He died November 20, also at the age of 92.

We also wanted to use this opportunity to mention the death of an Olympian that occurred nearly two years ago. Up until recently, we listed Enrique Lucca, born December 23, 1923, as the oldest living Venezuelan Olympian. Lucca represented his country in the small-bore rifle, prone, 50 metres sport shooting event at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where he finished 25^th. He had better luck at the 1963 Pan American Games, where he won a bronze medal in the team version of that competition. We had been told by his son that he was still alive in August 2021, and were looking forward to his 100^th birthday later this year. Some of his other relatives, however, informed us that Lucca actually died one month after we learned that he was alive, on September 15, 2021.

Finally, we wanted to end this blog with an Olympic mystery related to its main topic: field hockey. Daiji Kurauchi, born in 1913, represented Japan in the field hockey tournament at the 1936 Berlin Games, where his country placed joint-fifth with Afghanistan. We were able to locate a report about an individual by this name who died January 19, 1953 at the age of 41, which would be appropriate for the Olympian if the year of birth was just an estimate. This individual is listed as being a liquor executive by occupation, however, and thus we cannot tie him definitively to the Olympian.

Yesterday we noted that sport shooter Khalif Ayyat, born December 1, 1929, died September 5, 2022, at the age of 92 as the oldest living Jordanian Olympian and oldest survivor of the 1980 Moscow Games. We know of no other Jordanian Olympians who are alive over the age of 90, but Polish equestrian Wanda Wąsowska, born June 28, 1931, is now the oldest survivor of the Moscow Olympics. In addition to this, we have a few other titleholders that have died recently that we want to cover in this blog.

(José Pérez)

First, we had listed sailor Sergio González, born July 3, 1925, as the oldest living Mexican Olympian for some time. Research by Connor Mah, however, uncovered the fact that he died September 3, 2017, and thus never held the title. According to our lists, therefore, José Pérez, born October 10, 1928, who represented his country in three consecutive editions of the modern pentathlon (1952-1960), and fencing at latter edition, would be the oldest living Mexican Olympian. An anonymous edit to Wikipedia, however, claims that he died in 2022, although we have not been able to confirm this. If it were true, rower Roberto Retolaza, born January 12, 1930, who took part in the Games in 1960 and 1968, would be the oldest living Mexican Olympian.

(María del Carmen Vall)

Next, we had alpine skier Ramón Blanco, born February 6, 1925, who took part in the slalom at the 1948 St. Moritz Games, as the oldest living Spanish Olympian. Again, however, Connor Mah discovered that Blanco died in September of 2021. This makes fencer María del Carmen Vall, born June 17, 1926, the oldest living Spanish Olympian to the best of our knowledge. We last heard from her on her 90^th birthday.

(Max Bolkart)

We were also saddened to learn that French ski jumper André Monnier, born June 26, 1926, died October 8 at the age of 97. Monnier represented his nation at both the 1952 and 1956 Winter Olympics, finishing joint-36th and joint-46th respectively. He was more successful in his home country, winning several national championships, and later helped carry the Olympic torch to Grenoble when the Winter Games came there in 1968. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Olympic ski jumper, and we thought that distinction would go to his compatriot Régis Rey, born April 8, 1929, who competed in the same events. Rey, however, died April 6, 2022. Thus we now believe that Max Bolkart, born July 29, 1932, who represented Germany at the 1956, 1960, and 1964 Winter Games, is now the oldest living Olympic ski jumper.

(Tony Genato, pictured at the Tiebreaker Times)

Finally, basketball player Tony Genato, born June 9, 1929, died November 22 at the age of 94. Genato took part in the basketball tournaments at the 1952 and 1956 Summer Games, where his country was eliminated in round one and the quarterfinals respectively. He had much better luck in 1954, when his team won gold at the Asian Games and bronze at the World Championships. He retired in 1959 and later worked as a basketball coach. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Olympian to have represented the Philippines. That title now goes to Horacio Miranda, born September 20, 1931, who represented his country three editions of the rapid-fire pistol, 25 metres shooting event from 1960-1968.

Today on Oldest Olympians we wanted to briefly highlight two changes to our tables. The first concerns the addition of Greek sailor Charalampos Potamianos to our list of Olympic centenarians. Potamianos dabbled in several sports in his youth, including football, water polo, and sport shooting, but his lone Olympic appearance in 1948 came in sailing. At that year’s London Games, he took part in the Star class tournament, where he placed 10^th. By career he was a military officer, starting in the Navy, but transferring to the Hellenic Air Force in 1932. He also dabbled in politics. Potamianos was born in 1906, and while we do not know his exact date of birth, we know that when he died on August 30, 2009, he was 103 years old.

Additionally, we have learned that Greek tennis player Esme Simiriotis, born sometime in 1884, died October 10, 1982 at the age of 97 or 98. Simiriotis was eliminated prior to the medal round in the doubles event at the 1906 Intercalated Games, but won the gold medal in women’s singles. Her longevity means that she may at one time have been the oldest living Olympic champion.

(Hjalmar Levin)

Currently, we list Swedish cyclist Hjalmar Levin as the oldest living Olympic champion following the death of Belgian fencer Paul Anspach on August 28, 1981. Levin was born June 14, 1884 and died March 8, 1983, so he definitely outlived Simiriotis and was the oldest living Olympic champion for some time. If Simiriotis was born before June 14, 1884, however, then she was the oldest living Olympic champion until her death. Without knowing her exact date of birth, however, we cannot be certain.

Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Helena Pilejczyk, born April 1, 1931, died November 12 at the age of 92. Pilejczyk represented her country in eight speed skating events across two editions of the Winter Games – 1960 and 1964 – taking bronze in the 1500 metres at the former edition. She also took part in nine editions of the World Championships and, domestically, won six Polish all-around titles and 31 distance races. She did not retire officially until 1972 and continued to compete occasionally in masters’-level tournaments after that.

At the time of her death, Pilejczyk was the oldest living Polish Olympic medalist. That distinction now goes to Maria Golimowska, born August 28, 1932, who was already the oldest living Olympic volleyball medalist. Golimowska represented Poland in the tournament at the 1964 Tokyo Games, where she won a bronze medal. She also took bronze at the 1956 and 1962 World Championships and the 1958 European Championships, in addition to silver at the 1963 Europeans. Her international career lasted from 1955 through 1966, and she did not retire domestically until 1971.

(Stoyanka Angelova, pictured at Canal Catorce)

We also learned that alpine skier Dimitri Atanasov, born August 8, 1927, whom we believed to possibly be the oldest living Bulgarian Olympian, was not the same individual who was mentioned in a 2012 article as still being alive. We have not been able to confirm that he is deceased, but we have moved him to our “possibly living” list. This makes gymnast Stoyanka Angelova, born March 28, 1928, the oldest living Bulgarian Olympian that we know of. Angelova represented her country in the tournament at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where she had a best individual finish of 34th in the balance beam. After coaching the Bulgarian national team, she emigrated to Mexico in 1971, where she spent a half century involved with Mexican Olympian Committee.

(Robert Collins, pictured in a video by Saga Magazine)

Finally, we also had British rower Robert Collins, born April 18, 1924, on our list of Olympians for whom our last evidence of their being alive came from 2012. Connor Mah discovered, however, that Collins actually died shortly before that evidence was published, on January 27, 2012, and thus was never among the oldest Olympians.

(Francisco Andrade, pictured on the left)

Today on Oldest Olympians we wanted to provide an update on Portuguese sailor Francisco Andrade, born July 15, 1923, whom we believed to be the oldest living Portuguese Olympian, as well as the oldest living Olympic sailing medalist, but for whom we were unable to locate a 100^th birthday announcement.

Andrade represented Portugal in the Star class sailing tournament at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where he won a bronze medal. Although he had taken part in several World Championships prior to the Olympics, Andrade retired after earning this prize, as he wanted to spend more time with his family. He did, however, found and run sailing schools by profession. His partner, Joaquim Fiúza, was at one time Portugal’s oldest living Olympian and, having died at the age of 102 years, 24 days, remains the country’s only centenarian Olympian.

Connor Mah was able to locate a family member and learned that the Andrade, who was actually born August 16, 1923, died April 28, 2021 at the age of 97 and thus did not reach his centenary. This means that, to the best of our knowledge, Álvaro Sabbo, born February 2, 1926, is the new oldest living Portuguese Olympian. Sabbo represented his country in equestrian eventing at two editions of the Games, 1956 and 1960, but did not place individually or with the team at either. The last update that he had for him was at the age of 90, but we have not seen any evidence of his death.

(5.5 metres class podium at the 1960 Rome Games, via Getty Images)

The oldest living Olympic sailing medalist, meanwhile, is now Pierre Girard, who was already the oldest living Swiss Olympic medalist. Girard represented his country in the 5.5 metres sailing regatta at the 1960 Rome Games, where he won a bronze medal. He later helped manage the archives of his teammate, Henri Copponex, a naval architect and three-time Olympian.

(Alfred Roch)

Additionally, Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Alfred Roch, born June 8, 1925, died on August 1, one day after we featured him as the oldest living Olympic cross-country skier. Roch represented Switzerland in the 50 kilometers event at the 1952 Oslo Games, where he placed 16th. The new titleholder in this regard is Giacomo Mosele, born July 30, 1925, who represented Italy in the 18 kilometers event at those same Games and placed 34^th.

Recently, several of the oldest Olympian titleholders have died, and thus we wanted to not only provide updates for their deaths, but also cover who now holds the distinctions that they once carried. Thus, today on Oldest Olympians we wanted to review these changes in a little more detail than would be afforded by a regular post.

(Maurice Racca)

The first is French sport shooter Maurice Racca, born November 9, 1922, who died September 29 at the age of 100. Racca represented his country in two rifle events at the 1956 Melbourne Games, coming in 28th in the three positions and 39th in the prone position. He had much more success at the Mediterranean Games a year earlier, where he won four medals – one silver and three bronze – across various rifle disciplines. At the time of his death, which was unfortunately the first confirmation that we had that he had reached the age of 100, he was the oldest living Olympic sport shooter. That distinction now goes to Venezuelan Enrique Lucca, born December 23, 1923, who also took part in the prone event and placed 25^th.

(Niels Holst-Sørensen)

The other centenarian we lost was Danish athlete Niels Holst-Sørensen, born December 19, 1922, who died October 24. Holst-Sørensen represented his country in the 800 metres event at the 1948 London Games, where he placed ninth overall. An 18-time national champion and gold medalist in the 400 metres at the 1946 European Championships, he was later involved in sports administration and served as an IOC member from 1977 through 2002. By career he was in the military and served as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Danish Air Force from 1970 through 1982 and military representative to NATO from 1982 through 1986. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Danish Olympian. That distinction now goes to diver Birte Christoffersen, born March 28, 1924, who won a bronze medal for Denmark in platform diving at the 1948 London Games.

(Bernard Morel)

Next we have French fencer Bernard Morel, born March 30, 1925, who died October 23 at the age of 98. Morel represented his country in two Olympic team sabre tournaments, winning a bronze medal in 1952 and coming in fourth in 1956. He was also selected for the 1948 squad, but did not compete. Morel earned additional bronze medals in this event at the 1951 Mediterranean Games and the 1954 World Championships, and later held positions in the domestic administration of fencing. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Olympic fencing medalist. The new titleholder is Italian Irene Camber, born February 12, 1926. Camber competed in four editions of the Games and won the individual foil tournament in 1952, in addition to coming in third with the team in 1960.

(Ismael Delgado)

Our last deceased titleholder is Puerto Rican track athlete Ismael Delgado, born December 5, 1929, who died October 9 at the age of 93. Delgado represented his country in the 4×400 metres relay at the 1956 Melbourne Games, where he was eliminated in round one. He had earlier taken a silver medal in that event at the 1954 Central American and Caribbean Games, and also competed at that tournament in 1950, as well as at the 1955 Pan American Games. He began his working career in the United States Army and later became a teacher before entering the world of sports journalism and administration. When he died, he was the oldest living Puerto Rican Olympian, and he has been succeeded in this regard by sailor Garry Hoyt, born April 7, 1931, who represented his country in three consecutive editions of the Games, 1968-1976.

(Ilse Steinegger)

Finally, we wanted to note that Austrian athlete Ilse Steinegger, born August 8, 1925, died October 19 at the age of 98. Steinegger represented Austria in the high and long jumps at the 1948 London Games, placing seventh and tenth respectively. Domestically, she was the national champion in those events in 1943, 1947, and 1949. We last had an update on her in 2012, but we only learned that she had still been alive upon her death. On more positive news, the oldest living Portuguese Olympian, 1952 bronze medal-winning sailor Francisco de Andrade, born July 15, 1923, who was last confirmed alive in 2012, was also alive in 2015. While this prevents him from being removed from the tables at the end of the year, we still have no confirmation of his 100^th birthday.

Today Oldest Olympians is continuing its look into mystery competitors from the 1948 London Olympics for whom we lack both a date of birth and confirmation as to whether they are alive or deceased. Given the time that has passed, nearly all of these Olympians would be at least 90 years old, but there is a possibility that some are still alive. Today we are going to complete our look into Swiss Olympians.

(Alfons Oswald)

Only one of the remaining sports, rowing, has more than one Swiss mystery competitor. Arnold Amstutz and Otto Vonlaufen were both members of the coxed eights squad that was eliminated in the semi-finals. While there is a lot of missing information on this squad, Amstutz and Vonlaufen are the only two about whom we know nothing at all. The other mystery competitor associated with aquatic vessels is Alfons Oswald, who was 10^th in sailing’s Firefly class. He held the title of “Dr.” and was competing in the late-1930s, but we have no additional information on him.

(Richard Reider, pictured at oldtimestrongman.com)

The last remaining Swiss aquatic mystery is Willy Rist, who was 23^rd in platform diving. He had been the national champion in that event from 1933 through 1941 but, despite this, we have no biographical details for him. Weightlifter Richard Rieder was also a multiple national champion, having won the national bantamweight title in 1945 and 1946. In London he competed as a featherweight, placing 22^nd, and later won the Swiss lightweight title in 1953. There was a Gottlieb Rieder active in weightlifting around the same time, but we are not aware of any relation to Richard, or any other biographical details.

(Ernst Günther)

The other physical strength-related Swiss mystery is Ernst Kobl, who was eliminated in round three of the middleweight, Greco-Roman wrestling tournament. He was runner-up in that event at the Swiss national championships in 1940 and 1942, but won the title in 1948. Aside from this, however, we know nothing about him. Finally, we are left with a track athlete and a fencer. The former is Ernst Günther, who was eliminated in round one of the 5000 metres. He was the Swiss champion in that event in 1947 and might be Ernst Alfred Günther, born July 4, 1915 and died February 22, 1984, but we cannot be certain.

(Roland Turian)

The latter is Roland Turian, who was eliminated in round one with the Swiss sabre team. He may have been Roland Gaston Turian of Satigny, but this is based solely on the rarity of his name, and we have no other corroborating evidence. This is what we have for today, but we will be continuing this topic into the future and we hope that you will join us!

Today we believe that the oldest living Romanian Olympian, Francisc Horvath, is celebrating his 95^th birthday. We featured Horvath in our Olympic medal mysteries series a while ago, as he won bronze in bantamweight, Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1956 Melbourne Games. In response, one reader provided a report that showed him alive in 2021, but others have pointed out sources claiming that he died in 1969 or 1980, and it remains unclear which is correct. Nonetheless, since there is a reasonable chance that he is still alive, we are wishing him a happy birthday!

While we are blogging, we also wanted to provide an update on American rower Gordy Giovannelli, born April 11, 1925. Giovanelli was a member of the coxed fours team that took gold at the 1948 London Olympics by winning all of the races with relative ease. A graduate of the University of Washington, Giovanelli continued rowing for the rest of his college career and captured an Intercollegiate Rowing Association title in the eights in 1949. Earlier this year, we noted that he was the oldest living Olympic rowing medalist and the oldest American Olympic champion, but we have learned recently that he died December 21, 2022 at the age of 97.

(Dick Button)

This has led to some changes among the oldest living Olympians. Figure skater Peter Kennedy, born September 4, 1927, who earned a silver medal in the pairs event at the 1952 Oslo Games, is now the oldest living American Olympic medalist. Another figure skater, Dick Button, born July 18, 1929, who won the men’s singles event in 1948 and 1952, is now the oldest living American Olympic champion. For rowing, Denmark’s Poul Svendsen, born April 21, 1927, who took bronze in the coxed pairs at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, is now the oldest living Olympic rowing medalist. Italy’s Giuseppe Moioli, born August 8, 1927, is the oldest living Olympic rowing champion, having won the coxless fours at the 1948 London Games.

Additionally, Oldest Olympians is saddened to learn that Egyptian footballer Abdel Aziz Kabil, born March 14, 1927, died October 11 at the age of 96. Kabil represented his country at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where Egypt was eliminated after defeating Chile, but then losing against Germany. Domestically, he won an Egyptian Cup with Zamalek in 1952, but he was better known for his military career, which included distinguished command service during the 1967 and October 1973 Wars. Upon retiring from the military in 1984, he returned to sport by way of several important administrative positions with his former club and with the Egyptian Football Federation.

At the time of his death, Kabil was the oldest living Egyptian Olympian. That distinction now goes to Wagih El-Attar, born February 22, 1928. El-Attar represented his country in the coxed fours rowing event at the 1952 Helsinki Games, where Egypt was eliminated in the round one repêchage. He had better luck at the 1955 Mediterranean Games, where he captured bronze in the coxed pairs. He now lives in Orange Country, California.