Ruth Beitia

Ruth Beitia soared to Olympic gold in the women’s high jump at Rio 2016 at age 37, making her one of the oldest track and field champions ever. Her winning leap of 1.97m was 1.5% higher than the Olympic record at the time. This feat outperforms #2 David Cal’s best Olympic finish by earning the top podium spot, whereas Cal never won gold. With five consecutive Games from 2000, her persistence paid off with a gold that ranks above the average Olympic high jumper’s career peak, plus four European titles.