Thousands of athletes from around the world gather every 4 years to compete for eternal glory and an Olympic gold medal, and not all of them fit the traditional mold of athletes.
A report by the British newspaper, the Daily Star, stated that the average age of participants in the current tournament of 26 years indicates that the mixture of youth and experience are common features shared by most athletes, but there are those who competed at the age of ten and age 72.
There is no minimum or maximum age for Olympic athletes, but some sports have stricter eligibility limits, including gymnasts at least 16 years old and boxers at least 18 years old.
The report tracked the youngest and oldest Olympic athletes, both at the Tokyo 2020 Games and during previous Olympics.
Older male Olympic athletes
Swedish bowler Oskar Svan has competed in 3 separate Olympics and won 6 medals, and still holds the record for the oldest person to have competed and won a medal.
This includes the bronze medal he won for his impressive performance in 1912 in Stockholm, aged 64 years and 258 days, and his appearance in 1920 when he was 72 years old.
The oldest male Olympian at the Tokyo 2020 Games is 62-year-old Australian jockey Andrew Howe, who is competing in his eighth games, winning 3 gold medals during his participation.
It's a sixth Olympic medal for Andrew Hoy!
He takes #bronze for #AUS in the #EquestrianEventing individual event at his EIGHTH #Olympics.#StrongerTogether |
#Tokyo2020 |
@FEI_Global pic.twitter.com/rAzo0i6GCT
— Olympics (@Olympics) August 2, 2021
Younger male Olympic athletes
The report indicated that Demetrius Londras holds the record for the youngest male Olympian in history and the youngest Olympian to win a medal at the Athens Olympics in 1896. At just 10 years and 218 days old, the gymnast won a bronze medal in the barbell team competition for Greece.
One of the youngest male Olympic athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has already earned a silver medal, with 16-year-old Chinese Sheng Lihao finishing second in the 10m air rifle competition.
Heard of Sheng Lihao?
He's a 16-year-old competing in the men's 10m air rifle final – and he's won silver for #CHN!#Shooting pic.twitter.com/VcoKsRerfJ
— #Tokyo2020 (@JoySportsGH) July 25, 2021
Older female Olympians
The oldest Olympian in history is British jockey Lorna Johnston, who competed for equestrian glory at the Olympic Games at the age of 70 years and 5 days.
Having previously participated in the 1956 and 1968 Olympics, she entered the history books in 1972.
The oldest female Olympian at the Tokyo 2020 Games is jockey Mary Hanna of Australia, aged 66, while the oldest female medalist ever is archer Elisa Bullock, who won a bronze medal at the 1904 Olympics for the US team USA, at the age of 63 years and 333 days.
What were you doing in your life when you were 11 years old?
🤔
This Syrian child managed to become the youngest athlete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics at this age.
Get to know Hind Zaza: pic.twitter.com/3UydkCqufm
— AJ+ Arabic (@ajplusarabi) July 25, 2021
Younger Olympians
The report stated that the youngest Olympian in history was Italian gymnast Luigina Giafotti at the age of 11 years and 301 days. Luigina competed in the women's team competition at all levels in 1928, where she did so alongside her 12-year-old teammates, Ines Versesi and Carla Marangoni.
The youngest-ever Olympic medalist is Marjorie Gestring, who won the 3-meter platform diving event for Team USA in 1936 at the age of 13 years and 268 days.
As for the youngest Olympian in Tokyo 2020, 12-year-old table tennis star Hend Zaza from Syria.
Momiji Nishiya also deserves a mention, having become the youngest gold medalist in Japan at the age of 13 in the first-ever women's skateboarding competition.