Ko Willems

Jacobus Matheus " Ko" Willems ( born October 27, 1900 in Amsterdam, † September 28, 1983 ) was a Dutch cyclist.

1924 won Ko Willems, who had previously won two national titles in the amateurs, at the Olympic Games in Paris, the Gold Medal at the Velodrome de Vincennes about 50 kilometers ( Scratch). This victory allowed him, although he had still been in the previous round in ninth place, but the race still was able to win by a brilliant sprint. Involved in the victory was his teammate in January Maas, who had constantly attacked on the instructions of the team leader Gerard Bosch van Drakenstein to exhaust the other driver; the plan succeeded. Maas finished seventh.

From 1925 to 1932 Willems drove races as a professional, but without much success. He opened a bike shop in his hometown. He was a member of the ASC Olympia, the oldest cyclist clubs in the Netherlands, which counts numerous world champions and Olympic athletes to its members. His son is the sailor Hans Willems, who took part in 1964 in the Olympic Games in Tokyo. He led his father's business continues near the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.

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