Roelof Klein
Roelof Klein ( born June 7, 1877 in Lemmer, † February 12, 1960 in Montclair, New Jersey) was a Dutch rower. Together with François Brandt, he won at the Olympic Summer Games in 1900 in competition with two tax man, which made them the first coming from the Netherlands Olympic champions. As a helmsman, a prominent French boy sat in the boat, which is concurrently regarded as the youngest Olympic champion ever.
Life
Training and initial success in rowing
The son of a district judge from the Sneek studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University in Delft. During his studies, Roelof Klein did produce as rowers for the local student rowing association Laga, with whom he won several competitions. For rowers the club Laga, Njord and Nereus later specifically the rowing club Minerva Amsterdam was founded. This actually belonged to no members. Minerva Amsterdam had been called specifically for participation in international competitions in life.
In 1900 the Second Summer Olympic Games were held in Paris after 1896. The sports competitions were held over a period of more than five months as part of the local world exhibition. This fact and the lack of organization and information of the event to the public was hardly granted attention. The Netherlands sent to the competitions 27 athletes. In addition to sports shooters ( seven athletes ), floats (four) and sailors (three) represented the largest contingent with 13 athletes the rowers dar. Among them was also the 23- year-old student Roelof Klein. He should start with his almost two and a half years older Laga club colleague Antoine François Brandt, also an engineering student from Delft, in competition with two tax man. The rowing coaches from Amsterdam club Nereus, a doctor named Meurer, had given two chances of success in the journal Nederlandsche sport. Meurer had small attested a very good footwork among others. While Klein and Brandt should press the belt, as helmsman of the 29- year-old doctor Hermanus ( " Herman " ) Brockmann of Nereus was provided. All Dutch boats were in Paris under the club name Minerva Amsterdam at the start.
Participation at the Olympic Games
The Olympic rowing competitions, the first time in the program, found the end of August ( other reportedly in a basin on the Marne) rather than on the Seine between Courbevoie and Asnieres. The organization was confusing - a total of nine races were advertised, was a distinction without a clear separation by seniors, juniors and comers ( the IOC ranks today officially five rowing competitions of the Games in Paris ). In advance of the competition of two with coxswain Brandt, Brockmann and Klein were defeated in their boat AP Petrie to her own surprise at several boat lengths by the crew of the French club Société Nautique de la Marne. The boat of the French rower Lucien Martinet and René Waleff had taken the lax regulations on the participation of people tax advantage. They occupied the time as marginal viewed with boys or children weighing no more than 25kg and whose identity was not recorded. On the Dutch side, however, Hermanus Brockmann brought 35 kg on the scales.
As Brandt and Klein came behind the secret of success of their competitors, they decided, encouraged by her coach Meurer, personnel changes for the final run, the time they had reached as fastest losers. They changed their helmsman from, for the already participate in the competition was planned in the eighth, and chose instead an unknown French boy on the quay. According to a report Brandt in a memorial volume of his Rowing Club Laga from the 1920s, the boy had been repeatedly used as a helmsman by the Association Société de la Basse -Seine. As he grew in weight, had no longer needed his services. According to Brandt, the boy brought to a final weight of 33 kilos. The lighter weight of the helmsman but shifted the focus of the AP Petrie and the fin of the boat began to protrude above the water surface. Brandt and Klein made do then with five kilograms of additional lead weights, which they brought with them in the boat. So they had saved through the exchange of Brockmann total of 22 kg of weight.
Olympic victory over France and later life
In the final, the tactics used by Brandt and Klein went on, could prevail against collusion between the competing French teams. With the French boys as so-called Mixed team they put out a quick start to get einzuhandeln no residue on the fast start also French. The AP Petrie then took over the lead, together with the boat of the French rowing club Castillon. After a hundred meters Brandt and Klein possessed three boat lengths ahead of their pursuers. Nevertheless, we succeeded Lucien Martinet and René Waleff of the Société Nautique de la Marne, catch up with her young helmsman. At the finish, the projection of Brandt and Klein was on Martinet and Waleff with 7:34,2 minutes 0.2 seconds. So they were the first Dutch athletes who have won a victory at the Olympic Games. However, Brandt and Klein was this circumstance due to the lack of information on the competitions not aware of. They had assumed that they had participated in the World Championships, as well as years later Dutch biographical reference books listed. The French boy who was for Brandt and Klein as helmsman name is not handed down until today. No one made claims to his Olympic victory claims and no descendant was unable to provide any relevant information. There is only one picture of him together with the Dutch rowers. The contemporary press reports gave the age of the boys between seven and ten years. In general, he is considered by sports historians as the youngest Olympic champion ever.
After their victory in two with coxswain Brandt and Klein were together with the exchanged helmsman Hermanus Brockmann, who is also in this competition run as Olympic champion due to its semi-finals by the IOC, the crew of the Dutch rowing eight. This took place in the final three behind the boat of the U.S. Vesper Boat Club of Philadelphia and the second placed Koninklijke Roeivereniging Club Gent from Belgium. The Nederlandsche sports personally congratulated Brandt and Klein to their success, for it instead of medals a heavy bronze bust in the form of a woman ( " zware bronze Juffrouw " ), had been loudly Brandt.
After the success at the Olympic Games Roelof Klein completed his engineering degree in 1901 at the Technical University Delft. He emigrated in 1910 to the United States where he worked as an engineer for the oil and gas company Shell. Klein was the father of a daughter. Also lived in the U.S. a married sister of him. He died on 12 February 1960 at the age of 82 at his home in Montclair, New Jersey ( other reportedly on 13th or 14th February). The historian tone Bijkerk then made in the 1960s the forgotten Olympic victory in the Netherlands known, but estimated the age of the boy to twelve years. Matching ends Dutch reportedly to Brandt ( † 1949) and Klein did not know until her death that they were Olympic champions.