The Olympic Games prove that they are for everyone – young or old

Mijain López Nunez of Team Cuba (red) competes with Sabah Saleh Aze Shariati of Team Azerbaijan (blue) during the men’s Greco Roman 130kg wrestiling semifinal at the Paris Olympics. (Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

By Yanga Sibembe

15 Aug 2024

Several stories from Paris 2024 showcased that age is just a number at the Games.

The Olympic Games are a beacon of inclusion in a global society where exclusivity can be at the forefront of prevailing attitudes which beget people’s life decisions, whether micro or macro. At Paris 2024, this spirit of inclusion shone brightly once again.

The youngest participant was an 11-year-old skateboarder. The oldest was a 65-year-old equestrian Juan Antonio Jimenez Cobo. Neither won a medal in Paris, though.

Between those two Olympians at opposite ends of their careers, some athletes cemented their legacies as greats in their respective sports through their ability to stand the test of time as elite athletes. They demonstrated that through hard work and dedication to their field of expertise, time and age are no barriers.

This list includes Cuban wrestling legend Mijaín López Nunez (41), as well as American basketball great LeBron James. Ironically, the pair won their first Olympics gold medals at the Beijing 2008 Games, after having both debuted in Athens four years before.

Young and old

olympics all ages zheng haohao Zheng Haohao (11) of Team People’s Republic of China , is good friends with gold-medal winner, 14-year-old Arisa Trew of Australia. (Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

At the Paris Games, some of the youngest athletes were from skateboarding. The youngest this year was 11-year-old Zheng Haohao of China.

In pre-Paris 2024 interviews with Chinese media, Haohao said she had dreamt of being at the Olympics all her life. She has quickly ticked off that dream from her goals, despite not reaching her teens yet.

Coincidentally, she is good friends with Australia’s Arisa Trew. The 14-year-old clinched gold in the skateboarding park event, becoming Australia’s youngest Olympic champion in the process.

olympics all ages Fourteen-year-old skateboarding gold medallist Arisa Trew of Team Australia. (Photo: Julian Finney / Getty Images)

Showcasing her youth, Trew said before the Games that she had made a pact with her parents. She asked for a pet duck if she won gold, saying she “just wants a duck”.

“I’m friends with Arisa and I really want to learn from her and become better like her. I see [her and other skateboarders] sometimes when I go overseas for competitions. So, I’d chat with them sometimes and pick up some tips. We hang out together, dance together and just be silly together,” said Haohao, who will aim to podium at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

Olympics all ages Cobo Juan Antonio Jimenez Cobo of Spain (65) rides Euclides Mor during the Paris 2024 equestrian team and individual Dressage Grand Prix qualifier at Chateau de Versailles, France, on 31 July 2024. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Erik S Lesser)

On the opposite end of the scale at Paris 2024 was 65-year-old Juan Antonio Jiménez Cobo. The Spaniard was taking part in his third Games. Previously, he competed at the 2000 and 2004 Games. At the latter tournament, he won his sole Olympic medal – silver in the team dressage competition.

The gap between that success and his next Games participation was two decades. Though he did not medal in Paris, he said it was still an honour for him to be at another Olympics.

“It is so satisfying to participate in the Olympic Games,” the rider told Euro Dressage. “It is a recognition of the work and effort of a career with results.”

“In Sydney it was very exciting to discover the whole atmosphere for the first time, not knowing what that experience was like made it magical. I have very good memories of seeing all the best in the world gathered there. In Athens (when he was 45 years old), I had more knowledge and confidence and we won the team silver medal. In my memory it was indescribable,” Jiménez said.

There was an athlete older than Jiménez Cobo in Paris, 69-year-old fellow equestrian Mary Hanna of Australia. However, she was only a travelling reserve and did not participate in what would have been her seventh Games – having debuted in 1996.

Lasting legacy

In contrast to Haohao and Jiménez Cobo – there were a couple of other athletes who despite being considered old in competitive sports terms – added more gloss to their already glittering careers.

One example was Simone Biles becoming the oldest female gymnast to win gold in the all-around event, despite being only 27 years old. There was also Turkish shooter Yusuf Dikeç. The 51-year-old earned the tag of being the “coolest” Olympian in Paris on his way to silver in his fifth Olympics, having first appeared in 2008.

Olympics all ages Turkey’s Yusuf Dikec competes in the shooting 10m air pistol mixed team gold medal match on day four of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. (Photo: Charles McQuillan / Getty Images)

Besides Biles and Dikeç though, Cuban wrestler López Nunez (41) defied age as he grappled his way to a historic fifth gold medal on the trot at the Games – stretching back to Beijing 2008. By beating Yasmani Acosta of Chile in the final of this year’s tournament, López Nunez became the first athlete to win five golds in the same individual event at the Olympics.

“To achieve all of these results, one has to love their sport, love their job, and demonstrate to the world that with so little you can achieve great things,” López Nunez said of his career, after beating opponents almost a decade his junior on the way to writing history.

olympics all ages lopez Mijain López Nunez of Team Cuba (red) competes with Sabah Saleh Aze Shariati of Team Azerbaijan (blue) during the men’s Greco-Roman 130kg wrestling semifinal at the Paris Olympics. (Photo: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

His opponent Acosta, who was also hungry for gold, said it was an honour to battle with López Nunez in what was the Cuban’s final competitive match as a wrestler.

“I wanted to win gold, but at the same time, not so much because it’s Mijain, a legend in wrestling worldwide,” Acosta stated. “He has been giving me advice in every phase. He’s everything, a rival, a friend. He’s a brother.”

Basketball great James won his third Olympic gold at 39. His first win came in 2008. He added another one four years later, but went on to miss the 2016 and 2020 Games before making a return in Paris.

With his teenage son Bronny James set to play alongside him in the new season of the National Basketball Association, James attributes his longevity to a supportive family. Particularly his wife, Savannah James.

“My wife takes care of the business, man. She’s the best. Without her, I wouldn’t even be in this position to be able to do what I do and love the game,” said James – who was also awarded the Most Valuable Player award in Paris.

In 2024, the Games once again demonstrated that they seek to be for everyone, with a few standout stories highlighting this. DM

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Young and old

Lasting legacy