Picture by Mike Powell /Allsport
Making it to the Olympic Games is a dream that provides the drive behind many athletes through their careers, but it is only the best of the best that are presented with the opportunity to step onto the Olympic stage and represent their flag.
To then make it to the Games and thrive enough to go down in history as one of the greatest athletes to ever walk across that stage is a path that even fewer athletes will walk down.
Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm and Carl Lewis are just three of those athletes, so to celebrate 50 days to go to the Olympic Games Paris 2024, here are five of the greatest Olympic athletes of all time, all of whom are now over 50 years old.
As one of the greatest athletes of all time, Michael Jordan stepped onto the Olympic stage twice in his career and left with the gold around his neck both times.
At 61 years old, Michael Jordan left an impalpable mark on the sport of basketball that will hold true long after his time. A cultural icon, an untouchable athlete and role model to millions of people, he, along with Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley, stood out as Team USA’s 1992 “Dream Team,” who cruised through the Games defeating teams by an average of 44 points.
To this day, they are often described as one of the greatest teams to ever be assembled.
The Paris 2024 squad selection isn't bad either, with the likes of three-time Olympic champion Kevin Durant, double Olympic gold medallist, LeBron James, and Olympic debutant Steph Curry on the roster.
Dream Team Mark II, maybe?
USA Basketball announce Men's National Team roster for Paris 2024 Olympic Games
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024. Click here to see the official qualification system for each sport.
Michael Jordan #23 of the Chicago Bulls rests on the court during a game.
In the sport of artistic gymnastics, ‘the perfect 10’ was seemingly a myth before Romania’s Nadia Comăneci stepped onto the Olympic stage at Montreal 1976 and blew that misconception out of the water.
At the time, she was just 14 years old and her performance on the uneven bars solicited, for what was the first time in the history of the sport, a score of 10.0.
After she dismounted at the end of the flawless routine and presented to the judges, the scoreboard flashed a 1.00 because the system was not designed for perfection.
Gymnastics was first added to the sporting roster at the Games in 1896, but women did not compete in the sport until 1928, meaning there were 48 years and 12 summer Games where not a single athlete performed to the Romanian’s level of perfection, until that historic moment in the French-Canadian city.
Nine Olympic gold medals. Nine. That is how many Olympic titles American track and field legend Carl Lewis boasts after dominating the track as a sprinter and jumper through four Olympic Games and an entire decade.
Named “Olympian of the century” by Sports Illustrated in 2022, the Alabama native has Olympic and World Championship wins in the 100m and 200m sprints, 4x100m relay and long jump between the years of 1984 and 1996.
To this day, Lewis is one of just three male athletes to boast nine Olympic gold medals and four of those are from Los Angeles 1984, where he took the title in all four events in which he competed, as well as setting world records in the 100m and 4x100m relay.
No doubt the Olympic icon will feature heavily at the Olympic Games following Paris, the ones at LA 2028.
American icon Carl Lewis has been helping Louie Hinchcliffe (Photo by Getty Images)
Two-time Olympic gold medalist and double FIFA Women’s World Cup winner Mia Hamm is a staple in the history of the success of the United States women's national soccer team and one of the most influential women's footballers of all time.
Largely remembered as the first true superstar in women’s football, Hamm retired in 2004 with a whopping 158 goals - the record for the most goals scored in international competition of any male or female in history - and it held through until 2013.
She drew an unprecedented amount of media attention to the sport when fewer eyes were on women’s sports, especially in 1999, when she aided in the World Cup win on home turf.
Today, Hamm is 52 years old, a mother of three and still heavily involved in the world of football, co-owning multiple LA football clubs including the Los Angeles FC in the MLS and Angel City FC.
Having spent his entire professional basketball career as a Los Angeles Laker, Earvin “Magic” Johnson pretty much checked every box possible on the bucket list of an athlete.
From his Olympic gold medal to five championship titles to becoming a 12-time All-Star and being named MVP and Finals MVP three times each, Johnson radiated his genuine passion and love for the sport throughout the entirety of his career.
He was just 15 years old when a sports writer called him “Magic” for the first time, and that stuck. Today, Johnson is 64 years old, a father of three, former part-owner of the Lakers, a philanthropist, motivational speaker and broadcaster.
Related content