They say that age is just a number, however, it was a golden number for Lorna Johnstone and Oscar Swahn
It is a tradition to watch the Olympics as an event for young and very healthy athletes. Sweat glistening, movements precise and quick—it’s a show of what the human body is capable of. But what if we told you that the Olympic stage has also been graced by competitors who could be your grandparents?
Yes, the Games have observed superhumans who did not allow themselves to grow old and played in the Olympics to the best of their abilities even when they were old. It is time to discover the most amazing stories of the two oldest athletes in the history of the Olympic Games.
Oscar Swahn, the name that is associated with the Swedish shooting, was no ordinary athlete. His Olympic experience was as long as a man’s life. Just imagine that he was sixty when he clinched his first Olympic gold medal! That's right, sixty.
This Swedish athlete did not participate in the Olympics until 1908, but when he did, his shooting prowess surprised everyone. He did more than participate; he took the title in the team event and the single-shot running deer event. The cherry on top was when he finished second in the running deer double shot.
Who says you can't compete in your golden years? // Picture Courtesy -- Field & Stream
Swahn’s Olympic journey was not over at the 1908 London Olympics, as he competed at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Although he failed to win an individual gold, he won a bronze in the double shot and a gold in the team single shot event.
But the most remarkable episode had not been written yet. Swahn returned to the game after the worldly conflict at the age of 72. He set the record for the oldest Olympian in history, and to this day, no one has broken the record. And guess what? He did not arrive to ‘do a lap’ and then sit in the car for the rest of the day. He bagged the silver medal in the running deer double-shot team event!
While Oscar Swahn dominated the shooting range, Lorna Johnstone excelled in the equestrian competitions. Johnstone grew up among horses, having been raised in a wealthy family and having a lifetime passion for them.
Her achievement of becoming a thirteen-time national dressage champion would have assured her a spot in the Olympics if women's participation had been permitted at the time.
Meet the oldest female athlete in Olympic history // Picture Courtesy – Olympedia
When women were eventually admitted to the Olympics, Johnstone did not tarry in making as much noise as she could. She was the second-oldest woman at the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico at the age of 66. But she was not finished yet. Four years later, at the age of 70, she repeated the record and became the oldest woman in history to attend the Olympics.
Johnstone's story honours women who engage in physical activity and who, at any age, value passion. She cleared the path for future generations of dressage riders by riding until she was over eighty.
The stories of Oscar Swahn and Lorna Johnstone are not of mere age and victory; they are stories of determination, love for one’s sport, and the never-submitting spirit of a competitor. They are a word that tells us that the Olympic Games are not just about sports but about the stories of the human spirit.
