There is a famous saying that Age is just a number. There are many people who have proved this in real life. Where most people retire at the age of 60 or less there are people who set an example and make sure others look up to them and stay motivated. Oscar Swahn is one of them. The noteworthy fact is that we are talking about the toughest competitions in the world. Search for who is the oldest Olympian who won a medal and you will see Oscar Swahn as answer. He is the oldest person to win an Olympic medal.
Who was Oscar Swahn?
Swahn was born on October 20, 1847 in Stockholm, Sweden. At the 1908 Summer Olympics, Oscar Swahn won two gold medals in the running deer, single shot events (individual and team), and a bronze medal in the running deer double shot individual event. He was 60 years old, a year younger than Joshua Millner, the oldest gold medalist at that time.
When the 1912 Summer Olympics came to his native country, Sweden, Oscan Swahn was a member of the single shot running deer team which again won the gold medal. He also won bronze again at the individual double shot running deer event, but came joint fourth in the individual single shot event, which was won by his son Alfred Swahn. At 64 years and 258 days of age, he became the oldest gold medallist ever, a record he still holds.
At the 1920 Summer Olympics, he became the oldest athlete ever to compete in the Olympics at the age of 72. His best results were in the team competitions: a fourth place in the single shot running deer event, and a second place in the double shot running deer contest. With this silver medal, he is also the oldest medalist of all time.
What can we learn from the story?
Nothing is impossible if you are committed to achieve your goals and work towards them. Age is just a number.
At what age did Oscar Swahn win the medal?
He has many more victories in his portfolio but the most notable one is the Olympic win. Swahn won a silver medal at the age of 72 in the 1912 summer Olympics.
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