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This Boy Might Be the Youngest Ever Olympian—No One Knows Who He Is
This Boy Might Be the Youngest Ever Olympian—No One Knows Who He Is
Maybe 8 years old, possibly French, he was a coxswain in the 1900 Games; ‘the great mystery’
By Joshua Robinson
Joshua.Robinson@wsj.com
http://twitter.com/JoshRobinson23
Aug. 9, 2016 12:09 p.m. ET
Photo: Bill Mallon
From left to right: Francois Brandt, the Mysterious Coxswain, and Roelof Klein pose for a photo believed to have been taken after the 1900 rowing final. It was re-discovered in 1960.
RIO DE JANEIRO—In the quiet, dusty world of Olympic record keeping, nearly every trivia question has an answer. Yet one seemingly simply mystery endures: Who was the youngest-ever Olympian? ... Contenders have included a 10-year-old Greek gymnast from the 1896 games and an 11-year-old British figure skater from 1932.
There is another possibility. For more than 50 years, he has become the white whale of Olympic historians. He is an unnamed boy—possibly French, possibly eight years old—who served as coxswain for the Netherlands’ two-man boat at the 1900 Paris games. Little else is known about him.
“This is the great mystery of Olympic history,” said David Wallechinsky, author of a quadrennial reference book on the summer games and president of the International Society of Olympic Historians.
The anonymous French boy has perplexed historians ever since 1960 when a Dutch historian discovered a grainy black-and-white photograph of him. ... It shows the champion Dutch rowers, Francois Brandt and Roelof Klein, flanking a child between four and 5 feet tall, wearing a coat. This is the only known photograph of him. The 1900 Games didn’t bother with bureaucracy such as entry forms, which means estimates of the child’s age are all over the map.
Maybe 8 years old, possibly French, he was a coxswain in the 1900 Games; ‘the great mystery’
By Joshua Robinson
Joshua.Robinson@wsj.com
http://twitter.com/JoshRobinson23
Aug. 9, 2016 12:09 p.m. ET
Photo: Bill Mallon
From left to right: Francois Brandt, the Mysterious Coxswain, and Roelof Klein pose for a photo believed to have been taken after the 1900 rowing final. It was re-discovered in 1960.
RIO DE JANEIRO—In the quiet, dusty world of Olympic record keeping, nearly every trivia question has an answer. Yet one seemingly simply mystery endures: Who was the youngest-ever Olympian? ... Contenders have included a 10-year-old Greek gymnast from the 1896 games and an 11-year-old British figure skater from 1932.
There is another possibility. For more than 50 years, he has become the white whale of Olympic historians. He is an unnamed boy—possibly French, possibly eight years old—who served as coxswain for the Netherlands’ two-man boat at the 1900 Paris games. Little else is known about him.
“This is the great mystery of Olympic history,” said David Wallechinsky, author of a quadrennial reference book on the summer games and president of the International Society of Olympic Historians.
The anonymous French boy has perplexed historians ever since 1960 when a Dutch historian discovered a grainy black-and-white photograph of him. ... It shows the champion Dutch rowers, Francois Brandt and Roelof Klein, flanking a child between four and 5 feet tall, wearing a coat. This is the only known photograph of him. The 1900 Games didn’t bother with bureaucracy such as entry forms, which means estimates of the child’s age are all over the map.
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