He made his only previous appearance in the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964 at the age of 22. You might expect 66-year-old Hiroshi Hoketsu to be looking forward to spectating at this year’s games, but remarkably, after a 44-year absence, he stands to make a record-breaking comeback when Japan officially announces its Olympic team next week.

Azusa Kitano of the Japan Equestrian Federation said of Hoketsu -

He will be in the team dressage. He hasn’t been at an Olympics since 1964, which was 44 years ago, but he has continued riding all this time. He’s up at 5 am every day. He’s what horse riding is all about. I want to congratulate him with all my heart.

Mr Hoketsu, who will almost certainly garner an enormous amount of media attention (he was all over the breakfast shows today), would not however be the oldest ever Olympic competitor. That record belongs to Sweden’s Oscar Swahn, who took part in the 1920 Antwerp Games aged 72.

Photo: Japan Equestrian Federation