Olympic athletes tend to be between 20 and 30 years old. According to the Washington Post, the Tokyo Olympic participants were, on average, 27 years old. However, the competition also includes athletes barely in their teens and contenders no longer in their first youth. For example, 15-year-old skateboarder Sky Brown (pictured) will represent Great Britain at the Paris Olympics. Also in the fray are fortysomethings like the legendary US basketballer Diana Taurasi.
The Games themselves set no specific age limit. Instead, each sport’s international federation decides how old the participants should be. For example, 14 is the minimum age for divers and 16 for artistic gymnasts. However, this is not a competition that pits kids against kids; the kids may have to compete with older rivals. Japanese breakdancer Ayumi Fukushima, who is expected to qualify for Paris, will be 41 years old during the Olympics, while Australian breakdancer Jeff Dunne is only 16.
The oldest Olympian competed at 72
Even sexagenarians have competed in the Olympics. Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn won his first Olympic gold at 60 in the 1908 London Games. He is the oldest Olympian ever, having competed at the Antwerp Olympics in 1920 at 72.
Conversely, the Greek gymnast Dimitrios Loudras is the youngest Olympian ever. He was only ten years old when he competed in the 1896 Olympics in Athens, the first modern Olympic Games.
Here is a list of young and old athletes to watch at the Paris Games this year. The list includes their age, nationality, and sport.
China’s youngest Olympian is an 11-year-old who was born on the penultimate day of the London 2012 Olympics. Zheng Haohao competed alongside Team GB’s teenage sensation, Sky Brown, in the women’s skateboarding park event in Paris, showcasing her skills. This outstanding accomplishment demonstrates the extraordinary youthful talent that is appearing on the international scene.
Zheng, who started skateboarding at age seven, became one of the youngest Olympians in history when she left France, demonstrating her extraordinary talent and potential at such a young age.
Despite an impressive best score of 63.19, Zheng finished 18th in the preliminary round and missed the final, which was won by Australia’s 14-year-old Arisa Trew.
The children are all okay.
Three adolescents won medals in skateboarding at the 2008 Summer Olympics, demonstrating the sport’s continued vitality and energy. Athletes Sky Brown, 16, and Kokona Hiraki, 15, of Japan, in particular, stood out as they replicated their podium placings from the previous Games, demonstrating their remarkable talent and consistency.
Dora Varella of Brazil, who is 23 years old, was the most experienced competitor in the skateboarding event, proving that sport knows no age limits. In the men’s division, Team GB’s 51-year-old Andy Macdonald showed this by winning eight gold medals at the X Games before rival Zheng was even born.
However, Macdonald’s experience was nothing compared to the oldest competitor at the Paris Games, 65-year-old Juan Antonio Jimenez of Spain, who was competing in the equestrian event.
Dimitrios Loundras, who was only 10 years old when he won a bronze medal for his gymnastics team at the 1896 Olympics. is the youngest confirmed Olympic participant.
In 1900, a Dutch youngster who was presumably no older than seven or eight years old might have broken Loundras’ record by coxing a boat in Paris, but his name is still unknown.
Marjorie Gesting of the United States, on the other hand, is the youngest female gold medallist in Summer Games history.
She was only 13 when she won the gold in the 3m springboard diving event in 1936.
Eight-time World Cup skateboarding champion Andy Macdonald will make his Olympic debut as the oldest skateboarder in the competition. Fifty years old, he will represent Great Britain along with two teenagers: Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Sky Brown, 15, and world champion Lola Tambling, 16.
Recalling skateboarding was not an Olympic event when he took up the sport, Macdonald said, “But here I am, qualifying at the age of 50, and it feels pretty surreal. Age really is just a number.”
California-based American-born Macdonald can represent Britain because he has a British father.
He was inspired to try for the Olympics after watching skateboarding’s Olympic debut in the 2020 Tokyo Games. He found a berth on the British team through a qualifier in Budapest, Hungary.
Record haul of X Games medals for vert skateboarding
Macdonald, who became a professional skateboarder in 1994, holds the record for the most X Games medals in vert skateboarding.
However, his mastery of the vert ramp will not give him an edge in the Olympics, where he will compete in park, a faster-moving discipline using a three-dimensional bowl.
“A vert ramp is 14 feet high and the deepest bowls in park skating in the Olympic Park series are nine feet high. So it’s like taking everything I know from vert skating and trying to apply it to like, a much smaller, quicker, genre and that is like learning to do it all over again,” he said.
“I always knew it was going to be a long shot,” he said. I’m 50 years old skating against 14-year-olds, so I knew it was going to be hard.”
But older folks cheered him on when he announced on social media he would compete in the Olympics.
“When I announced, ‘Hey, I qualified,’ the 50+ crew was just like, ‘Yeah, representative for the old guys, go get ’em. Until the wheels fall off’,” he said with a grin. “And that’s great. If I can motivate people to stay out there doing what they love to do into their 50s and 60s … we’re still learning how long we can ride a skateboard for, and who’s to say? I’ve had a skateboarding career that’s lasted decades longer than I ever thought it would. And making it to the Olympic Games, getting to take my wife and kids to Paris, is just awesome.”
He has two daughters, aged 8 and 14, and an 18-year-old son. A typical day for him includes taking his children, helping them with their homework and after-school activities, as well as skateboarding practice for the Olympics. “From the get-go, it was always like, ‘Can you do this? Can you be an Olympic athlete and still be the dad, the important stuff?’ The most important thing’s raising my kids,” he said. “I’ve been able to do both. For me that’s the biggest accomplishment.”
When USA Basketball revealed their women’s national squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, one name stood out as being both recognizable and expected: Diana Taurasi. The 42-year-old guard and captain of Team USA is aiming for a historic sixth gold medal as she gets ready to continue her illustrious Olympic career.
Taurasi has been a key member of Team USA since her debut in Athens in 2004. She has helped the US win five of its seven consecutive Olympic gold medals.
Taurasi, one of the oldest players in USA Basketball history, will leave a lasting legacy in the sport with her outstanding record of accomplishments.
The oldest player in USA Basketball women’s history
Diana Taurasi will create history when she competes for Team USA in Paris. She will be the first woman to appear in six Olympics and the oldest basketball player in history.
Taurasi, who recently turned 42, will break the record set by legendary USA Basketball player Sue Bird, who competed for her nation at 41 in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Breaking the legendary Bird’s record will add even more lustre to Taurasi’s illustrious career.
Olympic records held by Diana Taurasi
Diana Taurasi has already established several Olympic records for the United States and the entire Games. Together with Sue Bird and Teresa Edwards, she holds the record for the most gold medals in Olympic basketball history, regardless of gender.
Taurasi’s position in Olympic history would be unique if she were to win a sixth gold medal in Paris. That would be another feather in the cap of the unrivalled queen of the court unmatched by any other player. In terms of games played (38), 3-point field goals made (78), points scored (414) and assists (97) in the history of American Olympic basketball, she leads the women’s division.
What you need to know about the 2024 Paris Olympics
Over the course of 18 days of competition in the French city and other locations, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will include 3,800 hours of live events and award 329 gold medals in 32 different sports.
The Paris 2024 Olympics will officially begin on July 26, with an opening ceremony. Rather than being held in a stadium, the grand opening ceremony will be held along the Seine River for this year’s Games.
However, the official start of sporting events will be on July 24, days prior to the opening ceremony, with events in football, rugby sevens, handball, and archery.
What’s new for Paris 2024
Breaking is the only new sport scheduled for the 2024 Olympics. This dance form had its start in the 1970s in the Bronx in New York, but it has since developed into a competitive sport. This sport will not be seen in Paris until the latter part of the Games; the men’s event is scheduled for August 10 and the women’s for August 9. There will be 32 competitors in total—16 males and 16 women—who will fight for the medals.
Furthermore, karate and baseball/softball were eliminated from the Olympics this year, despite their inclusion in Tokyo three years ago.
Additionally, Kayak Cross will make its premiere. It’s similar to canoe slalom, but instead of racing against the clock, each heat sets four participants against one another.
The sailing competition now includes two new kite events: kiteboarding and windsurfer-iQFoil. Moreover, men will compete in artistic swimming for the first time in Olympic history, and a team acrobatic routine round will make its debut.
Olympic prize money
The World Athletics has declared that it will be the inaugural international federation to present cash prizes during the Olympic Games. The international governing body announced that a total reward fund of $2.4 million (£1.9 million) has been made available for the Olympics in Paris this summer. The gold medal winners will receive $50,000 (£39,400).
Russian and Belarusian athletes
Athletes from Belarus and Russia may compete as Individual Neutral Athletes, or AIN.The International Olympic Committee has announced that they will not be participating in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics as well.
Dates to remember
Opening ceremony: July 26, River Seine
Archery: July 25 to August 4, Invalides
Artistic gymnastics: July 25 to August 4, Bercy Arena
Artistic swimming: August 5-10, Bercy Arena
Athletics: August 1-11, Stade de France (track & field), Trocadero (race walks), Invalides (marathons)
Badminton: July 27 to August 5, La Chapelle Arena
3×3 Basketball: July 30 to August 5, La Concorde
Basketball: July 27 to August 11, Pierre Mauroy Stadium (group phase) & Bercy Arena (finals)
Beach volleyball: July 27 to August 10, Eiffel Tower Stadium
Boxing: July 27 to August 10, North Paris Arena & Roland-Garros Stadium
Breaking: August 9-10, La Concorde
Canoe slalom: July 27 to August 5, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium – White water
Canoe sprint: August 6-10, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium – Flat water
Cycling BMX: July 30 to August 2, La Concorde (freestyle), BMX Stadium (racing)
Cycling mountain bike: July 28-29, Elancourt Hill
Cycling road: July 27 to August 4, Pont Alexandre III (time trials), Trocadero (road races)
Cycling track: August 5-11, National Velodrome
Diving: July 27 to August 10, Aquatics Centre
Equestrian: July 27 to August 6, Chateau de Versailles
Fencing: July 27 to August 4, Grand Palais
Football: July 24 to August 10, Bordeaux Stadium, Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium, La Beaujoire Stadium, Lyon Stadium, Marseille Stadium, Nice Stadium & Parc de Princes (finals)
Golf: August 1-10, Le Golf National
Handball: July 25 to August 11, South Paris Arena (group stage), Pierre Mauroy Stadium (knockout phase)
Hockey: July 27 to August 9, Yves-du-Manoir Stadium
Judo: July 27 to August 3, Champ-de-Mars Arena
Marathon swimming: August 8-9, Pont Alexandre III
Modern pentathlon: August 8-11, North Paris Arena (ranking round), Chateau de Versailles
Rhythmic gymnastics: August 8-10, La Chapelle Arena
Rowing: July 27 to August 3, Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium – Flat water
Rugby sevens: July 24-30, Stade de France
Sailing: July 28 to August 8, Marseille Marina
Shooting: July 27 to August 5, Chateauroux Shooting Centre
Skateboarding: July 27 to August 7, La Concorde
Sport climbing: August 5-10, Le Bourget Climbing Venue
Surfing: July 27 to August 4, Teahupo’o, Tahiti
Swimming: July 27 to August 4, Paris La Defense Arena
Table tennis: July 27 to August 10, South Paris Arena
Taekwondo: August 7-10, Grand Palais
Tennis: July 27 to August 4, Roland Garros
Trampoline gymnastics: August 2, Bercy Arena
Triathlon: July 30 to August 5, Pont Alexandre III
Volleyball: July 27 to August 11, South Paris Arena
Water polo: July 27 to August 11, Aquatics Centre, Paris La Defense Arena
British diver Tom Daley has officially secured his spot on Team GB’s diving team for the upcoming Paris Olympics, marking his fifth Olympic appearance.
After taking a hiatus from the sport following his gold medal win at the previous Olympics, Daley is set to make his comeback alongside teammate Noah Williams in the 10m synchronized platform event. Their partnership resulted in a silver medal at the World Championships following Daley’s return to competition in December last year.
Reflecting on Daley’s remarkable return, Williams acknowledged his unparalleled talent, stating, “No one else in the world would take two years out and be as good as he is.”
Initially presumed to retire during his time off, Daley’s decision to return to diving was influenced by his son Robbie’s desire to witness his father compete in the Olympic Games.
The fifth for Daley
His comeback started at the British National Diving Cup last December. Earlier this year, he and Williams won the world silver, guaranteeing Great Britain’s place in the 10m synchronized event in Paris. The pair also won gold at the World Cup event in Berlin last March.
Later this month, Williams will take the flight to the States, where he will train with Daley for two weeks in order to get the two of them tuned in before the Olympic games.
On the other hand, in the women’s 10m platform synchronized event, Team GB has also confirmed world bronze medallists Lois Toulson and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, the daughter of TV presenter Fred Sirieix, while Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding will compete in the men’s 3m springboard event, which Laugher won gold in with Chris Mears in Rio in 2016.
In the women’s 3m springboard event, Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew-Jensen, who took home silver and bronze respectively at the 2023 world championships, will compete together.
Moreover, following the Aquatics GB Diving Championships, which are held in Birmingham from May 23–26, the British competitors for the individual events in Paris will soon be announced.
