Iris Cummings Critchell, last living Olympian from 1936 Berlin Games and aviation pioneer, dies at 104

NBC Sports

29-01-2025

Iris Cummings Critchell, an aviation pioneer who was believed to be the last living Olympian from the 1936 Berlin Games, died last Friday at age 104.
Her death was confirmed by the IOC and by Harvey Mudd College, where she launched an aeronautics program.
'Iris was a beloved instructor and mentor to countless Harvey Mudd College students and alumni, a pioneering female pilot in the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), an Olympic athlete, and a dear friend to many in our community,' Harvey Mudd College President Harriet B. Nembhard wrote in a letter. 'While we are deeply saddened by her passing, we stand in awe of the tremendous accomplishments and life of such an amazing human being. Our thoughts are with her family as well as with all those she touched during her time with us.'
After making the 1936 Olympic team at trials, Critchell, then 15, and other swimmers were told there weren't enough funds to send everybody on the 10-day trip to Germany.
'The S.S. Manhattan sails in five days. Get out and raise as much money as you can from your hometown,' Critchell was told. 'My mother and I telegraphed our local newspaper, and a small amount was sent in from Redondo Beach.'
While at sea, the U.S. swimmers had one 20-foot-by-20-foot pool in which to train.
At the Opening Ceremony, Critchell took pictures of the Hindenburg flying above. She said she later watched all of Jesse Owens' races from an athlete section at the Olympic Stadium.
'Most of us were quite aware of the evolving difficulties or however you want to classify the rise of Nazism in Germany,' Critchell said in a 2015 interview for the NBC Sports film 'More than Gold' on Owens at the Berlin Games. 'We'd heard the same rumors (about a U.S. boycott). We were all wondering if the Olympic committee was going to take action before the boat sailed. That had come up in most everyone's minds.'
She finished fourth in her 100m breaststroke heat in Berlin, the last Games until 1948 due to World War II.
She then attended the University of Southern California and enrolled in a pilot training program in 1939. She earned her license the next year and worked as a flight instructor during the war.
She became a pilot for the AAF Ferry Command in the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, later included in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs).
As one of the first women to pilot U.S. military aircraft, she flew over 25 types of aircraft across the U.S. during World War II, according to the National Women Airforce Service Pilots World War II Museum.
'There were only 21 of us [women] who ever flew the P-38,' she said, 'and there were only four of us who ever flew the P-61 Black Widow.'
Critchell estimated she flew more than 50 types of aircraft in all before she stopped piloting after more than 75 years in 2016.
After the war, she married Howard Critchell and had two children.
She developed curricula for the Federal Aviation Administration, plus founded the Harvey Mudd College aeronautics program in 1961 along with her husband.
'Iris's contributions to aviation extended beyond her achievements,' the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of licensed women pilots of which Critchell was a member, posted on Tuesday. 'She became an inspiring mentor to other aspiring female pilots, advocating for greater inclusion and opportunities for women in the field. Her lectures, writings, and advocacy efforts helped to pave the way for future generations of women aviators, ensuring that the sky was no longer the limit for their dreams. Her legacy is one of breaking barriers and challenging norms, proving that one can truly soar to new heights with passion and perseverance.'
She was inducted into the National Flight Instructors Hall of Fame, among many honors.
'It's a treat to be up there with the elements and appreciate it all,' she said in 2015. 'It's you and the air movement and the wind and what you can do with your airplane.'
Nick Zaccardi,