R.I.P. John Whittemore: World’s oldest track athlete
This past Saturday, the Club West Masters Meet in Santa Barbara was missing its heart. Longtime masters athlete John Whittemore of nearby Montecito was not present. Whittemore, an inspiring presence at the Club West meet over the years, died April 13, 2005, at the age of 105. He died of still-unreported causes at the Mission Terrace nursing home where he lived for a week after being taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital a week earlier, reports Beverly Lewis, a close friend of his and senior USATF official.
Lewis says many athletes and officials at last weekend’s meet were surprised to learn that Whittemore had died six months earlier. They learned of his passing because Lewis had set up a memorial display of his many Club West medals over the years.
A year ago, about five weeks short of his 105th birthday, Whittemore set a world M100 javelin record with a toss of 11 feet, 2 inches. It was the last of at least eight age-group world records he set, according to an article that appeared in the sports section of the Santa Barbara News-Press on April 21, 2005. (No death notice was published; and no funeral or memorial service was held.)
At that October 2004 meet, a proud John Whittemore refused help in getting to the throwing area. It took him 45 minutes to walk the 100 yards from the car to the competition area, according to press accounts. Afterward, he allowed some students to carry him back to the car.
This spring, Lewis inherited several rooms full of medals and trophies and distributed them to folks and institutions who cared about John.
“We’re trying to keep his memory alive,” Lewis told me. “The medals went to people who knew and admired him.” Santa Barbara High School, his alma mater, got some. Northern Trust Bank, a Club West sponsor, got others, as well as the local Special Olympics and Santa Barbara Recreation Department.
After turning 100 on Nov. 20, 1999, Whittemore was pictured in National Geographic. A Stanford graduate, he also was featured in its alumni magazine.
Whittemore trained by lifting weights in bed, Lewis said. His home of 50 years overlooked the Pacific. He is survived by a daughter, grandson and two great-grandchildren.
He was the oldest member of USA Track and Field at his death and likely was the oldest track athlete on earth when he competed at the October 2004 meet.
Lewis attended John’s 105th birthday party in late November and recalled how watching him throw the javelin at his incredible age was “the most amazing thing I ever will witness. I’ve seen kids in a track group at age 15 give up. John would not give up.”
2 Responses
I competed at Club West and other meets with John Whittemore, and was very sad also to learn of his passing last week. The meet truly lost its heart, as you say. He was and is an inspiration to all of us “geezers” — it would be very nice, I think, to see a tribute (or at least a paragraph!) in GeezerJock or some other magazine.
I saw John throw the discus when he was 102. I show a slide of his performance in exercise physiology course at Chico State. I admired his determination and pluck. He was an inspiration to young and old athletes. He showed us that we can strive for excellence as long as we are above ground.
Everytime I throw in a competition, I am thankfull that I can still do something I enjoyed from my youth. John showed me that I can do it until the day I die. I may not throw at the same level as I do now, but I will be there. I have only 46 years of competing until I catch up with John.
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