• You are watching the Olympics in Paris Max!

In a few days, 10,500 athletes will gather in Paris to test their mettle and compete for the precious metal. While most of the athletes at the upcoming Games are between 20 and 30 years old, there is one athlete who is clearly younger than his competitors. Three years younger than the second youngest is China’s Zheng Haohao, who is only 11 years old. He will still not take the record for the youngest athlete at the Olympics, which still belongs to Dimitrios Loundras. The Greek has held the record since the first modern Olympics were held in Athens in 1896. Loundras was 10 years and 218 days old when he took part and won bronze in the team competition on bars. An exercise that is recognized as having only three teams.

Appropriately enough, Zheng Haohao, like some of the youngest athletes at this year’s Games, will be competing in one of the youngest Olympic disciplines: skateboarding. Skateboarding made its Olympic debut in 2021, and three of the youngest athletes at Paris 2024 will compete in the discipline.

Among the youngest players we also find breakdancer Dominika Banevič (B-Girl Nicka). The 17-year-old Lithuanian won the world championship in breaking in 2023, and is one of the favorites to take gold when the first Olympic medals in breaking are awarded this summer.

Youngest athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics

• Zheng Haohao, China, skateboard: 11 years
• Dhinidhi Desinghu, India, swimming: 14 years
• Fay De Fazio Ebert, Canada, skateboarding: 14 years
• Ariza Trew, Australia, skateboarding: 14 years
• Yoshizawa Coco, Japan, skateboard: 14 years old
• Harimoto Miwa, Japan, table tennis: 15 years
• Sky Brown, UK, skateboarding: 16 years
• Hezly Rivera, USA, Age: 16 years
• Quincy Wilson, USA, athletics: 16 years
• Lola Tambling, UK, skateboarding: 16 years
• Jeff Dunne (J-Attack), Australia, offence: 16 years
• Dominika Banevič (B-Girl Nicka), Lithuania, violation: 17 years
• Alex Shackell, USA, swimming: 17 years
• Phoebe Gill, United Kingdom, athletics: 17 years
• Summer McIntosh, Canada, swimming: 17 years
• Thomas Heilman, USA, swimming: 17 years

At the other end of the age table, a completely different sport dominates. The four oldest athletes heading to Paris this summer will compete, or be reserves, in equestrian sports. A sport that was first programmed at the 1900 Summer Olympics held in Paris.

The oldest athlete to travel to France is 69-year-old equestrian Mary Hanna. The Australian is travelling to the Games as a reserve this time, and may not get the chance to compete in Hanna’s seventh Olympics, 28 years after her first in Atlanta in 1996. Regardless, Mary Hanna will be competing in the Games next year to become the oldest athlete ever to compete in the Olympics, a record held by Sweden’s Oscar Swahn who competed in the 1920 Antwerp Games at the age of 72 years and 279 days.

Oldest athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics

• Mary Hanna, Australia, equestrian: age 69 (reserve)
• Jill Irving, Canada, equestrian: 61 years old
• Ni Xialian, Luxembourg, table tennis: 61 years old
• Mario Deslauriers, Canada, equestrian: 59 years
• Zhying Zeng, Chile, table tennis: 58 years
• Carl Hester, United Kingdom, equestrian: 57 years
• Nino Salukvadze, Georgia, shooting: 55 years
• Shane Rose, Australia, equestrian: 51 years
• Andy Macdonald, UK, skateboarding: 50 years
• Katrine Lunde, Norway, handball: 44 years old