The Internet and social media have exploded during the first week of the 2018 Winter Olympics after a pair of 17 year olds both won gold in snowboarding events. That might seem pretty young to strike gold, but it’s still a good five to seven years ahead of the youngest Olympians to ever participate in the games.
RELATED: Oldest Olympians Ever
RELATED: Youngest Olympic Gold Medalists
While all eyes have been focused this week on the incredible success of Chloe Kim and Red Gerard, let’s take a look at some of the youngest Olympians to ever compete in the games dating back to 1896.
Dimitrios Loundras – 10 Years Old
What were you doing when you were 10 years of age? Were you competing in the Summer Olympics, because young Dimitrios Loundras was.
Loundras competed during the first modern games held in Athens in 1896. Amazingly, he won a bronze medal in team gymnastics.
Cecilia Colledge – 11 Years Old
Representing Great Britain, Colledge competed in the ladies singles figure skating event at the Lake Placid Games of 1932. She finished an impressive eighth and won silver in 1936 in the same event.
Alain Giletti – 12 Years Old
Giletti competed in the 1952 Winter Games in figure skating, making him the youngest male athlete that year.
Italian Gymnast – 11 to 12 Years Old
In 1928, Italy chose to send three extremely young athletes to the games as Luigina Giavotti (11 years old), Ines Vercesi (12 years old) and Carla Marangoni (12 years old) competed in gymnastics.
Inge Sørensen – 12 Years Old
Sorensen had the claim to fame of being the youngest female athlete to medal in the Olympics when she captured the bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke in 1936. She went on to strike gold in the same event during the following games.
Donna Elizabeth de Varona – 13 Years Old
Competing in the 4X100 meter freestyle relay in 1960, de Varona participated in the qualifying rounds to help the U.S. eventually win gold. In the 1964 games hosted by Tokyo, she struck gold in the women’s 400-meter individual medley.
Kim Yun-Mi – 13 Years Old
The South Korean speed skater brought home gold at the young age of just 13 after taking part in the 3,000-meter relay in 1994. The medal made Yun-Mi the youngest Olympic champ in the history of the Winter Games.
Marjorie Gestring – 13 Years Old
Gestring was just 13 years of age when she won gold for the United States in women’s diving. She may have added to her total in future years, but World War II canceled the games in both 1940 and 1944.
Dominique Moceanu – 14 Years Old
As part of the 1996 U.S. women’s gymnastics team that became known as The Magnificent Seven, Moceanu helped her squad finish first and became the youngest competitor to win gold in women’s gymnastics in the process.
