Ed Hennig

It is possible that Ed Hennig can boast of a longer nationally competitive career in sports than any other American athlete. His 1904 Indian club swinging gold medal also counted as the 1904 national title and he would win that championship 13 times in all – 1904, 1911, 1933, 1936-37, 1939-40, 1942, 1945-47, and 1950-51 with the last title won at age 71. Like many of the earliest gymnasts, Hennig took up the sport on a doctor’s advice, as he was a sickly youngster. He became outstanding at club swinging, but also was a top-notch horizontal bar performer, winning that National Championship in 1911, in addition to his Olympic success. In 1942, at 62 years old, Hennig won the club swinging national title in and was third that year in the voting for the Sullivan Award, given to the nation’s top amateur athlete.