Carrying the Torch

In 1924, France hosted the Olympic Summer games. Frenchman Charles Coste was also born that year. Now, in 2024, the Olympics are once again hosting the Summer Olympic games, and this time 100-year-old Charles Coste, France’s oldest living Olympic medalist, will be carrying the torch in Paris.

In the 1948 Summer Olympic games held in London, Charles and his team members won the gold medal in track cycling. Charles’ career extended well beyond the Olympics, winning the Grand Prix des nations in 1949, the 1953 Paris-Limoges race, and the 1954 Ronde de Monaco – to name just a few of his races.

When Charles won his gold medal at the Olympics, France was just 5 years past German occupation, the country still had food ration tickets following World War II, and the games weren’t televised.

So much has happened during the course of Charles Coste’s life. Like so many other centenarians, he is still enjoying and contributing to the world in big ways. He is living proof that your healthy longevity is your birthright time from your first breath of life until you last.