Oscar Gomer Swahn (20 October 1847 – 1 May 1927) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

shooter Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, Bow and arrow, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or Blowgun, blowpipe). Even the acts of launching Flamethrower, flame, artillery, Dart (missile), darts, ha ...

who competed at three Olympic games and won six medals, including three gold. Swahn holds records as the oldest Olympian at the time of competition, the oldest person to win gold, and the oldest person to win an Olympic medal.

Biography

At the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

, Oscar Swahn won two gold medals in the running deer, single shot events (

individual An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own Maslow ...

and

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

), 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 The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

came to his native country, Sweden, he 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 Alfred (Alf) Gomer Swahn (20 August 1879 – 16 March 1931) was a Swedish sport shooter who competed at the 1908, 1912, 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics. He won nine medals: three gold, three silver and three bronze. He is the son of Oscar 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 The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

, 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 medallist of all time (not counting the art competitions). In all of the Swedish shooting teams competitions that Oscar Swahn competed with at Olympic games of 1908, 1912, and 1920, he competed alongside his son,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swahn, Oscar 1847 births 1927 deaths People from Tanum Municipality Swedish male sport shooters Olympic shooters of Sweden Running target shooters Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Olympic silver medalists for Sweden Olympic bronze medalists for Sweden Shooters at the 1908 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1912 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1920 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in shooting Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Västra Götaland County 19th-century Swedish people 20th-century Swedish people