Born in San Diego on April 17, 1914, Furtsch was part of the United States' 4x100 metre relay team which took gold at Los Angeles 1932.

Just 18-years-old at the time, Furtsch ran the second leg of the race, receiving the baton from Mary Carew before passing on to Annette Rogers with individual 100m bronze medallist Wilhelmina von Bremen running the anchor.

The team's time of 46.9sec was an Olympic and world record at the time, however, due to the Olympics not recognising tenths of a second at the time, the world record was set at 46.9 whilst the Olympic record was rounded up to 47.0.

Furtsch was fortunate to even make it to the Games and it was only thanks to her family and friends raising the necessary funds that she was able to take part in the US Olympic Trials. 

Even here, Furtsch fell on the line during the 100m final, leading her to be disqualified.

Fortunately for the youngster, Elizabeth Wilde and Louise Stokes, who both finished ahead of her in the race, were not selected for the Games, leaving Furtsch the final spot in the 4x100m relay team.

Evelyn Furtsch was part of the US women's gold medal winning 4x100m relay team at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles ©FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images



After the Olympics Furtsch attended Santa Ana College for two years but, due lack of training opportunities, she ended her track career at an early age and instead took up hockey and basketball.

She married after her second year of college, but her husband Joe Ojeda passed away in 1972.

In 1984 Furtsch received the Ralph Clark Distinguished Citizen Award in Santa Ana before being elected to the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame in 1985 as the first woman in Orange County to win an Olympic gold medal.

Only one other Olympic gold medallist in athletics, Britain's 1936 4x400m champion Godfrey Rampling, has made it to 100 years of age.

He passed away in 2009, one month after his 100th birthday.

Furtsch also becomes one of just two US Olympic gold medallists to reach the 100 year mark, the other being rower James Rockefeller, who won gold in the coxed eights at Paris 1924. 

He died in 2004 at the age of 102. 

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