This file picture shows the late French cyclist, and Olympic champion in the team pursuit during the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Charles Coste attending a ceremony to receive the Legion d'onneur at the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, on April 13, 2022.
PARIS — The world’s oldest former Olympic champion, ex-track cyclist Charles Coste, has died aged 101, French Sports Minister Marina Ferrari announced today.
Coste, who won gold at the 1948 London Olympics, was also a torch bearer at the 2024 Paris Games.
“It was with great sorrow that I learned of the death of Charles Coste, Olympic champion in London,” Ferrari said.
“At 101 years old he leaves a huge sporting heritage.”
Coste passed away on Thursday.
He had been a promising cyclist until the start of World War II, but resumed his passion after the war.
He won a French national title in 1947 and took Olympic gold in London the following year in the team pursuit, helping France beat the British team in the semi-final and Italy in the title race.
Since the death in January of Hungarian gymnast Agnes Keleti, Coste, born on February 8, 1924, had been the oldest living Olympic champion.
