Mary Hanna: Meet The Oldest Athlete At Paris Olympics 2024
Mary Hanna is an Australian Equestrian who competes in the discipline of Dressage. She is the oldest athlete to take part at the Paris Olympics 2024 at the age of 70.
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Mary Hanna is an Australian Equestrian who competes in the discipline of Dressage. She is the oldest athlete to take part at the Paris Olympics 2024 at the age of 70.
Hanna has represented Australia seven times at the Olympics, the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, 2000 Sydney Olympics, 2004 Athens Olympics, 2012 London Olympics, 2016 Rio Olympics, 2020 Tokyo Olympics. And now she is set to dazzle at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She missed the 2008 Beijing Olympics due to an injury to her horse.
Born on 1st December 1954, Hanna began riding at age four on her parents’ farm. She initially started as a jumping and event rider before switching to dressage in her twenties. Her first husband Gert Donvig brought her to Europe and introduced her to true competitive Dressage.
Olympic Results
1996 Atlanta Olympics: 24th in the individual event
2000 Sydney Olympics: 34th in the individual event and sixth in the team event
2004 Athens Olympics: 39th in the individual event
2012 London Olympics: 43rd in the individual event and ninth in the team event
2016 Rio Olympics: 39th in individual and ninth in the team event
2020 Tokyo Olympics: 40th in individual and 13th in the team event
Hanna has featured in several Grand Prix and World Cups as well in her long Equestrian career.
Achievements
In 2020 and 2021 she was named Dressage Rider of the Year at the Equestrian Victoria Awards in Australia.
In 2018 she was inducted into the Equestrian Victoria Hall of Fame in Australia, and received the Gold Badge of Honour from the International Federation for Equestrian Sports
Other Sport
Other than Equestrian, Hanna has also tried her hands at Sailing. She competed at the Etchells World Championships in 2022.
Education
Born in Melbourne, Australia Hanna attended Macarthur State School in Victoria before going to high school at Presbyterian Ladies’ College. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree.
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Family
Hanna’s husband Rob served as chef d’equipe of the Australian eventing team at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012. Her first husband Gert Donvig, who passed away in 1988, was a Dressage rider at an elite level. Her daughter Gitte Donvig has appeared for Australia in Dressage at World Cup events.
Biography
The Aussie has written an account of her life called ‘A Long Rein’. The book revolves around her Equestrian journey and describes how she saved her horses from a bushfire and talks about the car crash that killed her first husband Gert Donvig.