John Lysak

John Lysak was born in New Jersey. When his mother died in the 1918 flu pandemic, his father sent him and his brother, Steve, to an orphanage as he was unable to raise the children by himself. The brothers began rowing in the Hudson River with homemade boats. Competing for Yonkers Canoe Club, he won one national championship in the C-4 event in 1939, accompanied by his brother. After the 1936 Olympics he graduated from Springfield College where he met his wife, June.

During this time he suffered serious injuries after being hit by car. He had his arm torn seriously by the hood ornament, and was told he would never be able to use his hand again, but eventually recovered after teaching himself to use a small ball to regain mobility in his hand. Lysak served with the Marines in World War II, but later became a painting contractor in the San Francisco area. While at that job, he was working on a roof and fell 12 feet onto a cement driveway. Lysak crushed his feet and was told he would never walk but, after many operations and a year spent in rehab, he taught himself to walk again.

Lysak died in January 2020, at the age of 105 years, 145 days. From the death of Simone Schaller on 20 October 2016 until his own, Lysak was the oldest living Olympian.