Mouritius "Maurice" Prosper Peeters (5 May 1882 – 5 December 1957) was a

track cyclist Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, who represented his country at the two consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

(1920 and 1924). He was born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, but was raised in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. He died in nearby

Leidschendam Leidschendam () is a town and former municipality in the province of South Holland of the Netherlands. Along with Voorburg and Stompwijk, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. History The town's name has been in use for centurie ...

. In 1920, Peeters became amateur world champion in track cycling. One day later he rode the Olympic 1000 m sprint, and of course he was considered a favourite. He lost in the first round, but his second place was enough to progress to the next round. He then won the quarter final and the semi-final. In the final, he rode against two British cyclists, Harry Ryan and Tiny Johnson. They tried to make use of their numerical advantage, and Ryan attacked, so that Peeters had to get him back. In the final corner, Johnson should came around the corner to win the race, but Peeters was ahead and kept his lead. After having won the gold medal at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

in Antwerp (1000 m sprint), making him the first Dutch individual Olympic champion, he captured the bronze medal four years later in the 2000 m tandem competition, alongside

Gerard Bosch van Drakestein Gerard Dagobert Hendrik Bosch van Drakestein (24 July 188720 March 1972) was a Dutch track cyclist who represented his country at three Summer Olympics (1908, 1924 and 1928). He was born in Mechelen, Belgium and died in The Hague, Netherlands. ...

References

External links

Dutch Olympic Committee
1882 births 1957 deaths Dutch male cyclists Cyclists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of the Netherlands Olympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Dutch track cyclists Cyclists from Antwerp Cyclists from The Hague Olympic medalists in cycling Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics {{netherlands-cycling-bio-stub

See also

References

External links