Last Living Olympian From 1936, Iris Cummings, Was Preceded in Death by Her Husband, Howard Critchell!
Iris Cummings was 15 year old when she competed in Olympics.
January 30, 2026
This article was last updated by Aditi Rai on January 30, 2026
Iris Cummings, the oldest and last surviving Olympian from the 1936 Games in Berlin, passed away at age 104 after outliving her husband, Howard Critchell, by nearly a decade.
American competitive swimmer and influential aviator who flew bombers as a Women’s Air Force pilot in World War II passed away on Friday, January 24, 2026, in Claremont, California.
Harvey Mudd College, in Claremont, where Iris worked for three decades as an instructor of aeronautics emerita, announced her death.
24 Janvier 2026 (Vendredi dernier):
Nous avons appris le décès à 104 ans de Iris Cummings, célèbre aviatrice Américaine, nageuse professionnelle.
Dernière participant survivante des Jeux Olympiques de 1936
Intronisé au National Flight Instructors Hall of Fame en 2000
— l'Histoire du jour© (@394Histoires)
The late Olympian finished fourth in her heat of the 200 breaststroke at the Berlin Olympics in 1936.
Similarly, her time of 3:21.9 ranked 18th overall, with two heats of seven swimmers each advancing to the semifinals.
While Iris didn’t win a medal at the 1936 Olympics, she national 200-meter breaststroke titles.
However, Iris Cummings put her competitive swimming aside and began pursuing her aviation career.
Iris Cummings was also known for her marriage to her late husband, military pilot Howard Critchell, whom she met at a base used as a ferry stop for the WAFS and WASP at Monroe, Louisiana, in 1942.
Iris Cummings and her longtime husband, Howard Critchell, began directing the Bates Foundation Aeronautics Program established at Harvey Mudd by pilot and philanthropist Isabel Bates.
The couple ran the program together until Howard retired in 1979. Moreover, Iris continued running the program until her retirement in 1990.
Iris Cummings’ Husband, Howard Critchell, Passed Away in 2015!
Moreover, Howard Critchell, an honorary alumnus of Harvey Mudd College, passed away peacefully on January 17, 2015, at 95.
Howard Critchell was born on April 1, 1919, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in New York City.
RIP Iris Cummings Critchell, the last surviving Olympian from the 1936 Berlin Games and an aviation pioneer. Here Critchell tells part of her story with narration from Morgan Freeman.
— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi)
Similarly, the late Howard studied vocal music before enlisting in the Army Air Corps, where he served as a pilot for four years during World War II.
The late couple Iris Cummings and Howard Critchell married on New Year’s Eve in 1944 at a Kansas military base, where Howard and his crew were training on B-24s in anticipation of overseas assignment.
Howard Crichell, known as Critch, also served as a pilot for Western Airlines and was a businessman and flight instructor.
Furthermore, Howard was an avid music lover; he played violin, became a luthier, and rebuilt violins.
As a of Harvey Mudd College, Critchwell received the College’s Lifetime Recognition award along with his wife, Iris, in 2007.
Iris Cummings and her husband, Howard Critchwell, are survived by their two children, Sandra, aka Sandie Clary, and Robin Critchwell, three grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
Happy 103rd birthday to Iris Cummings, the oldest living Olympic swimmer and American Olympian, as well as the last known survivor of the 1936 Berlin Games! She competed in the 200 metres breaststroke in Berlin. Read more at:
— Oldest Olympians (@OldestOlympians)
Talking about their children, in an interview, Iris Cummings stated that their oldest son Robin worked for CBS as an engineer, whereas their daughter Sandra went to Scripps College and works as a paralegal.
Sandra also has her commercial and instrument pilot’s license. However, very little information about their children’s lives is available as they prefer to maintain a private life.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Iris Cummings was born on December 21, 1920, in Los Angeles, California, United States; she attended Redondo Union High School.
- Her father earned a Doctor of Medicine from Tufts University School of Medicine. He also worked as an athletics coach at the start of the 20th century at Columbia University and as the athletics director at Swarthmore College from 1902 to 1908.
- Iris’s mother was a Greek and Latin teacher.
- She raced airplanes competitively and won the 1957 All-Woman Transcontinental Air Race, winning the first prize pot of $800.
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Suruchi is a business management student with a strong passion for writing, particularly when it comes to sports. She loves creating articles and blogs that explore various aspects of the sports world. With a curious mind and a love for both academics and creativity, she constantly seeks to expand her knowledge and share her insights through her writing.
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