What are the origins of this fun-filled festive custom?
The 55-year-old shooter representing Georgia is competing in the Olympics for the 10th time! Salukvadze debuted at Seoul 1988, making her the first woman to participate in ten Olympic Games.
The 59-year-old equestrian's Olympic debut was in Atlanta in 1996. Peters is representing Team USA for the sixth time in the Games.
Olympic skateboarding may have the youngest athletes, but the sport also has one of the oldest competitors at Paris 2024. Team GB's Andy Macdonald is one of them, at age 50.
At age 57, Hester is representing Team GB in the Olympics for the seventh time. He was actually the youngest rider in the British equestrian team at the 1992 Games in Barcelona.
Zhiying Zeng (aka Tania) made her Olympic debut in Paris at age 58. The "table tennis Grandma," as she's affectionally dubbed, represented Chile this year.
The 61-year-old equestrian is representing Switzerland at this year's Olympics. He previously represented his country in Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
The equestrian is competing for Canada in the Olympics for the fourth time, at age 59. Deslauriers first competed in the Olympics in 1984 at the Los Angeles Games.
Rolf-Göran Bengtsson is an equestrian representing Sweden at the Games. He is 62.
Spanish 65-year-old equestrian Juan Antonio Jiménez is the oldest athlete competing in Paris. Jiménez has competed in Olympic games before, namely Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
The 17-year-old is representing Lithuania in the breaking event. Banevič won gold at the World Breaking Championship in 2023 and is on a mission to achieve the same result in the Olympics.
Track-and-field athlete Quincy Wilson is also 16, making him the youngest man to compete in the Olympics for the US.
At age 16, we have British skateboarder Lola Tambling. She is making her Olympic debut this year at the Paris Games.
The 16-year-old British skateboarding phenomenon was Team GB's youngest-ever medalist in the Tokyo Games. This year, she's back on the Olympic stage in Paris.
The 14-year-old skateboarder from Canada is the youngest of her country's team. Ebert started skateboarding six years ago and never looked back.
The 11-year-old Chinese skateboarder is the youngest athlete in the Paris Olympics. Haohao started skating at age 7 and now competes at the highest level.
Swimmer Alex Shackell from Team USA is 17 years old. Her brother, Aaron Shackell, is also competing in the Paris Games. He too is a young athlete, at age 19.
The Finish skateboarder is 13 years old. Heili Sirviö is the youngest athlete ever to represent Finland in the Olympics.
Vareeraya Sukasem is a 12-year-old skateboarder from Thailand. She was the female flag bearer for her country in the opening ceremony.
Now, let's meet some of the oldest and youngest competitors in Olympic history. The record for the oldest male competitor is held by 72-year-old Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn, who competed at the 1920 Games in Antwerp.
The youngest male competitor was 10-year-old Greek gymnast Dimitrios Loundras. The young Olympian participated in the 1896 Games in Athens.
The oldest female competitor was British rider Lorna Johnstone. The Olympic equestrian competed at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich at age 70.
The youngest female ever to compete in the Olympics was Italian gymnast Luigina Giavotti (her team pictured). She competed in the 1928 Amsterdam Games at the age of eleven.
The oldest male gold medalist is Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn again, at the 1912 Olympics when he was 64. British shooter Jerry Millner (pictured) won gold at the age of 61 during the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.
The oldest woman ever to win Olympic gold in a team was American archer Lida Peyton "Eliza" Pollock. Pollock was 63 when she competed in the 1904 Games in St. Louis.
More recently, Japanese equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu competed at the London 2012 Games at age 71.
The youngest male athlete to win a gold medal as part of a team was 13-year-old German rowing coxswain Klaus Zerta (middle) at Rome 1960.
Kusuo Kitamura of Japan is the youngest gold medalist in an individual event. Kitamura (right) was 14 when he won the 1500-m Freestyle swimming event in the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Sources: (Business Insider) (Oldest) (NBC News) (Olympics.com)
See also: The LGBTQ+ athletes to keep your eyes on at the Paris Olympics
Donna Elizabeth de Varona was just 13 when she won gold for Team USA in the relay heats for the 4x100m freestyle at the 1960 Games in Rome.
The International Olympic Committee has not determined an age limit to participate in the Games, and the truth is there is no such thing as "too young" or "too old" for certain sports. In fact, some Olympic sports are dominated by younger or older athletes. For instance, many equestrian athletes peak later in their careers. On the other end of the spectrum, we have tweens competing at an Olympic level in sports such as skateboarding.
Have you wondered who the youngest and oldest athletes in the Paris Olympics are? Click on and get to know them.
The 16-year-old gymnast is the youngest female athlete in Team USA this year.
The youngest and oldest athletes at the Paris Olympics
One athlete made her Olympic debut this year at age 58!
LIFESTYLE Sports
The International Olympic Committee has not determined an age limit to participate in the Games, and the truth is there is no such thing as "too young" or "too old" for certain sports. In fact, some Olympic sports are dominated by younger or older athletes. For instance, many equestrian athletes peak later in their careers. On the other end of the spectrum, we have tweens competing at an Olympic level in sports such as skateboarding.
Have you wondered who the youngest and oldest athletes in the Paris Olympics are? Click on and get to know them.