John Whittemore (November 20, 1899 – April 13, 2005) was an American centenarian from Montecito,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, who was previously credited as being the "world's oldest athlete" (held until June 28, 2015, before being surpassed by

Stanisław Kowalski Stanisław Kowalski (14 April 1910 – 5 April 2022) was a Polish supercentenarian masters athlete who, at the age of 105, became the oldest ever competing athlete in the newly formed M105 age division (ages 105–109) in sprinting, shot put a ...

)http://masterstrack.com/blog/003459.html masterstrack.com article A long time Masters Track athlete,http://www.trivia-library.com/c/senior-olympic-records-for-people-over-age-70-part-2.htm Trivia Library reference his last competition was on October 5, 2004, just six weeks before his 105th birthday.http://masterstrack.com/blog/003392.html Obituary He threw the

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

and discus on that occasion in the Club West Masters Meet held at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

Biography

Whittemore said of his unique position in the athletic world "If I don't drop it on my foot, I set a world record." Had he competed after his birthday it would have necessitated a new age division in a sport divided by five-year age groups, a situation Whittemore continued to train for. When Whittemore threw the shot put, earlier on March 28, 2004, at the

Santa Barbara Easter Relays Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

, (at age 104 years, 4 months), it was covered on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'' on March 29, 2004. The only other reported instance of a 104-year-old participating in athletic events was Norwegian skier Herman "Jackrabbit" Smith-Johannsen, reported in 1979 and that was not in an organized event. The next active claimant to the title was Australian

Ruth Frith Ruth Pauline Frith (born Ruth Pursehouse, 23 August 1909 – 28 February 2014) was an Australian centenarian Masters athletics, masters athlete. She was the oldest active athlete. She is the current holder of the List of world records in mas ...

, who competed in throwing events at the 2009

World Masters Games The World Masters Games is an international multi-sport event held every four years which, in terms of competitor numbers, has developed into the largest of its kind. Governed by the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), the World Mast ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. She was still active when celebrating her 104th birthday in August 2013, however she died in March 2014.

Everett Hosack Everett may refer to: Places Canada * Everett, Ontario, a community in Adjala–Tosorontio, Simcoe County * Everett Mountains, a range on southern Baffin Island in Nunavut United States * Everett, Massachusetts, in Middlesex County, Massachus ...

, who

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announced as the "world's oldest athlete" at the time, famously participated in the

Penn Relays The Penn Relays (also Penn Relays Carnival) is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually since April 21, 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In 2012, there were ...

and

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

National Indoor Championships at age 101. On June 28, 2015,

became the first athlete to compete in the M105 category. Whittemore attended

Santa Barbara High School Santa Barbara Senior High School, "Home of the Dons," is situated on a sprawling campus in Santa Barbara, California in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. Among the oldest high schools in California and one of five high schools in the Dis ...

, where he was a long and triple jumper, and graduated in 1917. He often described riding to high school on horseback. Later he attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and was an outstanding tennis player.http://www.bridgeguys.com/WGlossary/WhittemoreJohn.html bridgeguys reprint of L.A. Times article He spent several decades competing for the Club West Track Club, which named an annual award for him. Club West Awards list

Additional

List of centenarian masters track and field athletes In the sport of athletics, centenarian competitors were recorded in the early 20th century, and have become increasingly common in the 21st century. This has occurred during a period of population ageing and increased longevity in wealthy count ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittemore, John American masters athletes 1899 births 2005 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians Stanford Cardinal men's track and field athletes Sportspeople from Santa Barbara, California Track and field athletes from California Stanford Cardinal baseball players Stanford Cardinal men's tennis players