Sainz Becomes Oldest-Ever Dakar Rally Winner at Age of 61: What Are Sports’ Other Oldest Champions?

On January 19, the legendary Spanish driver Carlos Sainz won the fourth title in the Dakar Rally cars category and once again raised the limit of the oldest winner to 61 years.

This is Sainz’s first victory as an Audi driver, and only a year ago he had a serious back injury in a rally when two vertebrae were damaged. This might be the reason for the relatively high 7.50 odds on average on his win of the 2024 Dakar Rally on the best mobile bookmakers. Sainz Senior celebrated the rally victory with a large number of his team and friends, but also with his son, the Formula One Ferrari driver Sainz Junior.

After an exhausting two-week drive through Saudi Arabia, the goal was in Yanbu, on the coast of the Red Sea. Sainz won by one hour, 20 minutes, and 25 seconds ahead of Belgian debutant Guillaume De Mévius in a Toyota Overdrive, while the famous Frenchman Sébastien Loeb, a nine-time rally champion, was third.

The winning car from the Audi company (Audi RS Q e-Tron) is the first winner with an electric drive, and it will be an excellent incentive in the F1 campaign, for which the German giant will be ready in 2026. Sainz won all four times in cars from different manufacturers, which makes his titles truly special.

Not Only Did Dakar Rally Get Its Oldest Winner Ever, But It Also Happened in Snooker

Just four days before Sainz’s record, snooker had its oldest-ever champion.
There’s no end to Ronnie O’Sullivan’s achievements at the baize-covered table. The greatest snooker player of all time continued to dominate the sport, even though at 48 he’s already a veteran.

“The Rocket“ defeated Ali Carter 10-7 in frames in the 2024 Masters (2024 MrQ Masters) final on his home soil in London, UK, although he trailed 3-6. The Englishman thus won £250,000 and the jubilee 50th edition of the Masters, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world of snooker.

O’Sullivan thus became the oldest winner of the Masters in the history of the tournament. In addition, in 1995 he became the youngest to win the Masters. But even there’s no end to the colossal achievements in his career. In 2023, he became the oldest winner of the UK Championship at the age of 47, and at that tournament, he was both the youngest and the oldest champion because he won it at the start of his career in 1993. O’Sullivan is also the oldest world champion (he was 46 years old when he won the title in 2022).

Becoming a sports champion at the age of 61 in the case of Sainz and 48 in the case of O’Sullivan is truly astounding. Let’s compare their achievements with some other sports champions who are considered the oldest to win accolades…

Top 10 Sports’ Oldest World Champions

Fred Davis (ENG), billiard, 1980 WPBSA World Championships winner at age of 67

Oscar Swahn (SWE), rifle shooting, 1912 Summer Olympics 100-meter running deer, single shots winner at age of 64

Carlos Sainz Sr. (ESP), rally, 2024 Dakar Rally cars winner at age of 61

Phil Mickelson (USA), golf, 2021 PGA Championship winner at age of 50

Bernard Hopkins Jr. (USA), boxing, 2014 WBA light heavyweight Super title at age of 49

Ronnie O’Sullivan (ENG), snooker, 2024 MrQ Masters winner at age of 48

Jack Quinn (USA), baseball, 1930 World Series winner with Philadelphia Athletics at age of 47

Juan Manuel Fangio (ARG), Formula 1, 1957 German Grand Prix winner at age of 46

Chris Chelios (USA), ice hockey, 2008 Stanley Cup winner with Detroit Red Wings at age of 46

Robert Parish (USA), basketball, 1997 NBA winner with Chicago Bulls at age of 43

Tom Brady (USA), American football, 2020 Super Bowl winner with Tampa Bay Buccaneers at age of 43

Nicholas Santos (BRA), swimming, 2022 FINA Short Course World Swimming Championships 50-meter butterfly winner at age of 42