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French cyclist Charles Coste, the oldest living Olympian and a 1948 gold medalist, has died, the International Olympic Committee confirmed on Monday. He was 101.
“We have to say goodbye to an Olympic champion in cycling from London 1948 and the penultimate torchbearer at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Charles Coste,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry said in a statement.
Torchbearer Charles Coste (center) passes the torch to French athlete Marie-José Pérec (right) and French judoka Teddy Riner (second right) in the Gardens of the Tuileries during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
“At 101, he was the oldest living Olympic champion. The image of him passing the Olympic flame to Teddy Riner and Marie-José Pérec in the rain in Paris during the Paris 2024 opening ceremony went around the world. He will be remembered forever. Our thoughts go out to his family at this difficult time.”
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Coste, who was the penultimate Olympian to light the Olympic flame at the 2024 Games in Paris, died last Thursday, according to French President Emmanuel Macron’s office.
The statement said Coste was “until his last breath, the tireless messenger of a certain idea of sport.”
Coste won gold at the 1948 London Olympics in the team pursuit. Just a year earlier, he earned his first medal after winning the individual pursuit at the French Amateur Championships in 1947. Shortly after winning his Olympic medal, the French cyclist won bronze at the 1948 World Championships.
Charles Coste at the finish of the Grand Prix des Nations in Paris, France, on September 18, 1949. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
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He retired in 1959 after competing in, but not finishing, two Tours de France.
Costa’s achievements, which included a 39-second victory over Italy in the 1948 Games for the largest margin in Olympic history, were remembered in Paris last year when, seated in a wheelchair, he passed the flame to French Olympians Teddy Riner and Marie-Jose Perec.
“Charles Coste has left us, I had the immense honor of him giving me the Olympic flame during the Paris 2024 Games,” Riner said of the moment in a social media post.
French cyclist and Olympic champion in the team pursuit at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, Charles Coste attends a ceremony to receive the Légion d’honneur at the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, on April 13, 2022. (FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
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“This moment symbolized the passion and transmission that drove him. Charles Coste represented commitment, respect and the love of sport in all its forms. His journey commands admiration and his legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.”
