The world's oldest Olympian, Uruguayan sailor Felix Sienra, has died at thea age of 107 ©Twitter

The world’s oldest Olympian, Uruguayan sailor Felix Fructuoso Sienra Castellanos has died at the age of 107. 

He had celebrated his birthday only 10 days ago.

"He took off the captain’s armband and got out of the boat," his daughter Magda told German Olympic historian Gunnar Meindhardt as she revealed news of her father’s passing.

Sienra had competed at the 1948 London Olympics, although the sailing events were held on the coast at Torbay in the south west of England.

Sienra took part in the Firefly, with his best performance coming in the second race of the series when he placed second but finished the overall competition in sixth position.

The gold medal was won by legendary Danish sailor Paul Elvstrom.

Sienra was born in 1916 and had watched Uruguay win the 1930 FIFA World Cup in Montevideo.

It is thought that he might have been the last surviving eye witness to that match.

"I celebrated the win with friends, we grilled fish and drank a lot of wine," he said later. 

"That night was the first and last time I got really drunk."

He studied and became a lawyer but remained closely connected with the sport of sailing.

He served as vice-president of the Uruguayan Olympic Committee and was Commodore of the Yacht Club of Uruguay from 1973 to 1975 and again from 2003 to 2005.

He last sailed in a boat at celebrations to mark his 100th birthday.

"I feel good, I feel fit," Sienra told Welt Am Sontag in his last newspaper interview. 

"I don't get into a sailing boat anymore. The last time I did that was when I turned 100.

"At that time we made a multi-day trip to a paradise island."

In January, he attained the greatest age of any living Olympian surpassing the previous record holder - American shooter Walter Walsh, who had also competed at the 1948 Games.

Sienra celebrated his 107th birthday only ten days ago.

Experts at Olympic database Olympedia believe that 102-year-old French long jumper Yvonne Chabot-Curtet is now the oldest surviving Olympian.

Chabot-Curtet competed in both 1948 and 1952.