Thursday, July 24

[DoubleRBar]

Happy 97th birthday today (Thursday) to an Olympic champion who competed in four Olympic Games and won an Olympic silver medal as well as that gold medal.

Our birthday athlete started out as a handball player and then switched to field and track.

This champion did not compete in any of the Olympic hurdle events.

The date of this athlete's Olympic gold medal is significant as well as this person's date of birth.

That Olympic silver medal (which was mentioned in the first sentence) was won in the last of the four Olympics in which this athlete competed.

Who is our birthday athlete for this penultimate Thursday of September?

Extra credit if you can tell me the significance of the date in the thread title and the date of our birthday athlete's birth.

[Olli]

Born 1922, probably competed in 1948–1960. Perhaps a thrower, if switched from handball. Probably a European, since I don't think handball was too much played elsewhere.

After writing what's above, I made a guess, which I thought might be quite improbable. But when I checked it, it turned out to be correct. However, having made that research, I am afraid I have to disqualify myself.

[DoubleRBar]

You're a good man, Olli and it sounds as if you made a very good guess.

[tandfman]

Reality check. If you make a single first guess (which you think is right but aren't 100% sure), and then check and find that it's right, is that the kind of research that should bar answering?

[Olli]

To be precise, I checked two athlete names. About the first, I was 99% sure it's not him/her. About the second, I was perhaps 80% sure it's not him/her either, but it turned out to be the right one after all. In any case, I'll be happy to leave the joy of guessing/knowing/answering to others.

[Pego]

The Zátopeks were born on the same day in 1922. Emil is long gone, Dana is still alive (I think) and it could be her. That Thursday 24th could be the day in Helsinki when Emil won 5000 and Dana JT one right after the other.

[DoubleRBar]

Happy birthday today to Dana Zatopek (97). I believe she is still alive. Very well done, Pego. You're right about July 24 when Emil and Dana won Olympic gold medals (5,000 and the javelin) about 80 minutes apart. Yes, they were both born on the same day in 1922. Emil died at the age of 78. Dana won Olympic gold in Helsinki (1952) and Olympic silver in Rome (1960). She was 7th in the 1948 Olympic javelin and in Melbourne (1956) she was 4th place.

[Trickstat]

I think she is the oldest living Olympic Track & Field gold medallist.

[bambam1729]

I think she is the oldest living Olympic Track & Field gold medallist.

That is correct - she is the second oldest Olympic gold medalist, after Agnes Keleti (HUN-GYM, 1952-56). See this site - https://acsweb.ucsd.edu/~ptchir/ - for information on Oldest Olympians. Paul Tchir is in our group of Olympic historians, the OlyMADMen, and his specialty is tracking oldest Olympians and he is also an Arabic scholar, so he handles tracking information on Arabic nation Olympians for us.

[Pego]

It is Zátopková, many Slavic languages, Czech including add á or ová to female surnames. I met Emil in person as a kid sometime in the early 50s. In Czechoslovakia of those days he was an institution, loved and worshiped.