Dimitrios Loundras (Gymnastics)

Dimitrios Loundras was a Greek gymnast who competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Although he only received a bronze medal in a team event, his claim to fame is that he is the youngest ever Olympic medalist. At 10 years 218 days he remains the youngest medalist in Olympic history, if you discount the competitors of unknown ages who competed as coxswain in the 1900 Olympics.

Loundras participated in the parallel bars event to help his Ethnikos Gymnastikos Syllogos team capture the bronze medal. Although there was just three teams that took part in the event his medal shines like gold since he was so young during the time his team placed third.

Loundras was just 10 years and 218 days old when he won the bronze medal making him the youngest medalist and participant in the history of the Games, not taking into account an unknown participant, which was thought to be seven years old French boy, who competed in the coxed pair rowing team of the Netherlands in the 1900 Olympiad.

Loundras was the last surviving competitor of the 1896 edition of the Olympiad.

Loundras later became part of the Hellenic Navy as an officer and earned a lofty Rear Admiral rank. In 1936, he worked at the Lesbos Prefecture as a prefect.

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