Oldest Olympic Medalist Ever Was—What Else?—a Shooter

The Olympics used to be a very different deal. As late as 684 B.C., they were a one-day event. You’d pile the wife and kids in a wagon with some pomegranates and olives and go watch guys compete in athletic events that were relevant to life at the time: running, the long jump, throwing a javelin, boxing, horseback riding, and pankration, which was the original mixed martial art. Pretty much everything was permitted except biting, gouging, stabbing your finger in your opponent’s eye, and attacking the genitals. The Greeks had a sense of fair play. There was no doping. Maybe eating too many pre-race pomegranates, which are loaded with antioxidants and minerals, was frowned upon.

What would the Greeks have thought of ping pong, trampoline, and BMX biking? I’m guessing they’d just shake their heads and think, We busted our butts to give you guys civilization and this is what you do with it?

But let’s not get bogged down in that.

From 1908 to 1948, the games included another eminently practical sport—running deer shooting. A paper target 110 yards away made 10 runs of 75 feet, each of which lasted about four seconds. The target had three concentric circles, with values of 4, 3, and 2 points. There were single- and double-shot versions of the contest, as well as team and individual contests.

Does this sound unbelievably cool? It does. But it gets better. While most Olympic sports chew up and spit out athletes at ridiculously young ages—Simone Biles, 19, is debating whether she will compete in the 2020 games—shooting does not. In fact, the oldest Olympic medalist of all time is thought to be Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn. He won his first gold medal at 60 in the running deer single-shot in 1908. The next day he won a second gold in the team event, then a bronze in the double-shot.

In 1912 games in Stockholm, he won a bronze in the double-shot and a gold in the team single-shot. He was 64.

Due to large scale disagreements in Europe in 1916, there were no Olympics that year. But in 1920, Oscar Swahn was back. He was 72. That’s old by today’s standards, even older by those of that era. Oscar either didn’t know this or didn’t particularly care. He just knew he was there to shoot. And shoot he did. He won a silver in the running deer double-shot team event and competed in the individual and team single-shot events.

Oscar Swahn remains the oldest person to have ever medaled in the Olympics.

What are the chances of bringing the running deer shooting events back? About the same as me growing a full head of hair. Should it be reinstated as an Olympic event? Oh, hell yeah.