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 that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, who was previously credited as being the "world's oldest athlete" (held until June 28, 2015, before being surpassed by
Stanisław Kowalski)
[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. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...
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, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...
.
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, (at age 104 years, 4 months), it was covered on ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
'' 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, 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 Mas ...
in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. She was still active when celebrating her 104th birthday in August 2013, however she died in March 2014.
Everett Hosack, who
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...
announced as the "world's oldest athlete" at the time, famously participated in the
Penn Relays
The Penn Relays (officially The Penn Relay 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 ...
and
USATF
USA Track & Field (USATF) is a 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 1 ...
National Indoor Championships at age 101.
On June 28, 2015,
Stanisław Kowalski 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 Di ...
, 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
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, where he played
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
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]
See also
*
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 countrie ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittemore, John
American masters athletes
1899 births
2005 deaths
American 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