5 Age Defying Olympic® Athletes

Think the Olympics^® are just for young people? Think again! These five astonishing athletes turned the tables on Father Time, smashing records and stereotypes as they competed on the world’s biggest stage. Dive in to discover the legendary Olympians who prove that when it comes to chasing gold, age isn’t just a number - it’s an asset!

5. Lorna Johnstone

• Oldest Age While Competing: 70
• Country: Great Britain
• Sport: Equestrian Dressage

Lorna Johnstone set a record as the oldest female Olympian at age 70 during the 1972 Games, nearly 20 years after her debut in 1956 when she was 53. A seasoned equestrian, she was a 13-time British dressage champion. Although she’s often considered the oldest British Olympian post-art competitions, Johnstone didn’t win an Olympic medal, her highest award being 5th place in the 1968 Team Dressage.

4. Hiroshi Hoketsu

• Oldest Age While Competing: 71
• Country: Japan
• Sport: Equestrian Dressage

Hiroshi Hoketsu, renowned for being the oldest participant in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, initially joined the Games in 1964 at 23 and returned more than 40 years later. Post-retirement from his business career, he resumed equestrian sports, rejoining the Olympics in 2008 when he was 67 and in 2012 when he was 71. His horse’s illness thwarted an attempt to compete in the Rio 2016 Games, costing him a chance to break the record as the oldest Olympian at age 75.

3. Arthur von Pongracz

• Oldest Age While Competing: 72
• Country: Austria
• Sport: Equestrian Dressage

Arthur von Pongracz competed in the 1936 Olympics at age 72, making him one of the oldest Olympians. He never won a medal, with a 4th place in Team Dressage in 1936 as his peak. His Olympic journey began at age 60 in the 1924 Paris Games.

2. Oscar Swahn

• Oldest Age While Competing: 72
• Country: Sweden
• Sport: Sports Shooting

Oscar Swahn, a sports shooter, is often cited as the oldest Olympian and medalist. Starting at 60 in 1908, he won two golds. At 64, he became the oldest gold medalist in 1912, a Guinness World Record. In 1920, at 72, he set records as the oldest competitor and silver medalist.

Photo by Tim Hipps, U.S. Army

1. John Copley

• Oldest Age While Competing: 73
• Country: Great Britain
• Sport: Art Competitions – Mixed Painting, Engravings, and Etchings (no longer recognized as a sport)

John Copley is recognized as the oldest competitor in Olympic history at 73, having won a silver medal for his “Polo Players” engraving in the 1948 Games, the last year art was included as an event.

Reference: Oldest Olympians in the World