Queen Jeannie Pedals On As Beijing's Middle-Aged Persevere

Jeannie Longo’s first of two appearances in her seventh Summer Olympics didn’t go as planned. But the 49-year-old French woman remained optimistic and didn’t rule out competing again in the London Olympics in 2012.

Longo is the eighth-oldest athlete competing in Beijing. The top-10 oldest athletes range from Hiroshi Hoketsu, 67, of Japan, an equestrian, to Dara Torres, 41, the American swimmer.

Longo, the 1996 Olympic road race gold medalist, has won more than 1,000 races in her long career. While riding a steady rain Saturday, she finished 24th, trailing winner Nicole Cooke of Great Britain by 33 seconds. Longo will also compete Wednesday in the individual time trial.

I first met Longo more than 20 years ago. She was part of the Celestial Seasonings/Red Zinger team competing in the Coors International Bicycle Classic in Colorado.

Longo was the best women’s cyclist in the world. She was in her mid-20s then, fiery, charming and tough on the bike. Like a lot of the French of the time, she wore an ascot with her non-cycling clothes. I immediately liked her, the opposite of most of her competitors, whom she sometimes called “silly girls.” Her rivals may still not like her, but they respect her. She’s known as “Queen Jeannie.”

Here’s the list of the 10 oldest athletes (according to Reuters), their country and the sport in which they'll compete in Beijing:

Hiroshi Hoketsu, 67, Japan, equestrian
Laurie Lever, 60, Australia, equestrian
John Dane, 58, USA, sailing
Susan Nattrass, 57, Canada, shooting
Mark Todd, 52, New Zealand, equestrian
Iain Murray, 50, Australia, sailing
Luan Jujie, 50, Canada, fencing
Jeannie Longo, 49, France, cycling
Ralf Schumann, 46, Germany, shooting
Dara Torres, 41, United States, swimming