Belgium at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Last updated
Belgium at the
1912 Summer Olympics
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg
IOC code BEL
NOC Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee
Website www.teambelgium.be  (in Dutch and French)
in Stockholm
Medals
Ranked 13th
Gold
2
Silver
1
Bronze
3
Total
6
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games
The team of Belgium at the opening ceremony. 1912 Opening ceremony - Belgium.JPG
The team of Belgium at the opening ceremony.

Belgium competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.

Contents

Medalists

MedalNameSportEventDate
Gold medal icon.svg Gold Paul Anspach Fencing Men's épée 13 July
Gold medal icon.svg Gold Paul Anspach , Henri Anspach, Robert Hennet, Fernand de Montigny,
Jacques Ochs, François Rom, Gaston Salmon and Victor Willems
Fencing Men's team épée 10 July
Silver medal icon.svg Silver Polydore Veirman Rowing Men's single sculls 19 July
Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Emmanuel de Blommaert Equestrian Individual jumping 16 July
Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Belgium men's national water polo team
Water polo Men's Team Competition16 July
Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze Philippe Le Hardy De Beaulieu Fencing Men's épée 13 July

Aquatics

Swimming

Five swimmers competed for Belgium at the 1912 Games. It was the third time the nation had competed in swimming, a sport in which Belgium had competed each time the country appeared at the Olympics.

None of the Belgian swimmers advanced to the finals in their individual events; two reached the semifinals.

(Ranks given are within the swimmer's heat.)

Men
SwimmerEventsHeatQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal
ResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRank
Félicien Courbet 200 m breaststroke N/A3:12.61 Q3:11.65did not advance
400 m breaststroke N/A6:52.62 Q6:59.84did not advance
Oscar Grégoire 100 m backstroke N/ADisqualifieddid not advance
Herman Meyboom 100 m freestyle 1:15.43did not advance
Jules Wuyts 100 m freestyle 1:13.64did not advance
Women
SwimmerEventsQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal
ResultRankResultRankResultRank
Claire Guttenstein 100 m freestyle  ?5did not advance

Water polo

Belgium made its third Olympic water polo appearance in 1912, having competed both times the country had sent athletes to the Olympics previously. After taking the silver medals in 1908 and 1900, the Belgians were only able to win a bronze at these Games.

Belgium had the misfortune of meeting eventual gold medalists Great Britain in the quarterfinals, though this misfortune was mitigated by the use of the Bergvall System in the tournament (giving Belgium an opportunity to take silver even after this defeat). The Belgian squad gave the British side the greatest challenge the latter faced all tournament, taking the match into extra time before falling. In the repechage rounds, the Belgians defeated both of the other quarterfinal losers in turn. They then beat the losing finalist Austrians to set up a match against Sweden for the silver and bronze medals. This was the fifth match of the tournament for Belgium (the most of any team—the Belgians were the only side to play every other team in 1912), and the Swedes proved too much and defeated Belgium 4–2.

TeamEventQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalsRepechage semifinalRepechage finalSilver round 1Silver round 2Silver matchRank
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Opposition
Score
Belgium Water polo Flag of the United Kingdom (3-2).svg  Great Britain  (GBR)
L 5–7 a.e.t.
did not advanceFlag of Hungary (1867-1918).svg  Hungary  (HUN)
W 6–5
Flag of France.svg  France  (FRA)
W 4–1
ByeFlag of the Habsburg Monarchy.svg  Austria  (AUT)
W 5–4
Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden  (SWE)
L 2–4
Bronze medal icon.svg
Quarterfinals
July 7, 1912 Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg57a.e.t.Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Djurgårdsbrunnsviken
Grégoire (2), Meyboom (2), Nijs Goals Hill (2), Wilkinson (2), Radmilovic (2), Bentham
Repechage semifinal
July 10, 1912 Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg65Flag of Hungary (1848-1849, 1867-1869).svg  Hungary Djurgårdsbrunnsviken
?Goals Fazekas (3), Rémi, ?
Repechage final
July 11, 1912 Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg41Flag of France.svg  France Djurgårdsbrunnsviken
?Goals?
Silver round 2
July 15, 1912 Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg54Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy.svg  Austria Djurgårdsbrunnsviken
?Goals Scheff, ?
Silver medal match
July 16, 1912 Belgium  Flag of Belgium (civil).svg24Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden Djurgårdsbrunnsviken
?Goals Bergqvist (2), V. Andersson, R. Andersson

Athletics

2 athletes competed for Belgium in 1912. It was the country's second appearance in athletics.

Ranks given are within that athlete's heat.

AthleteEventsHeatSemifinalFinal
ResultRankResultRankResultRank
Léon Aelter 100 m  ?2 ?5did not advance
200 m  ?3did not advance
François Delloye 1500 m N/A ?6-7did not advance

Cycling

A single cyclist represented Belgium. It was the third appearance of the nation in cycling, in which Belgium had competed each time the nation appeared at the Olympics. Jules Patou, who had also competed in 1908, was the only Belgian cyclist and did not finish the time trial.

Road cycling

CyclistEventsFinal
ResultRank
Jules Patou Ind. time trial did not finish

Equestrian

Dressage
RiderHorseEventFinal
PenaltiesRank
Emmanuel de Blommaert Clonmore Individual 13521
Gaston de Trannoy Capricieux Individual 11717
Eventing

(The maximum score in each of the five events was 10.00 points. Ranks given are for the cumulative score after each event. Team score is the sum of the top three individual scores.)

RiderHorseEventLong distanceCross countrySteeplechaseShow jumpingDressageTotal
ScoreRankScoreRankScoreRankScoreRankScoreRankScoreRank
Paul Convert La Sioute Individual 10.0019.851410.00108.3314did not startdid not finish
Emmanuel de Blommaert Clonmore Individual 10.001DisqualifiedRetireddid not finish
Gaston de Trannoy Capricieux Individual 10.0019.691710.0012DisqualifiedRetireddid not finish
Guy Reyntiens Beau Soleil Individual 10.001DisqualifiedRetireddid not finish
Paul Convert
Emmanuel de Blommaert
Gaston de Trannoy
Guy Reyntiens
La Sioute
Clonmore
Capricieux
Beau Soleil
Team 30.001DisqualifiedRetireddid not finish
Jumping
RiderHorseEventFinal
PenaltiesRank
Emmanuel de Blommaert Clonmore Individual 5Bronze medal icon.svg
Guy Reyntiens Beau Soleil Individual 2930
Paul Convert
Emmanuel de Blommaert
Gaston de Trannoy
La Sioute
Clonmore
Capricieux
Team 606

Fencing

Belgian fencing team at the 1912 Olympic Games Belgian Fencers 1912.JPG
Belgian fencing team at the 1912 Olympic Games

12 fencers represented Belgium. It was the third appearance of the nation in fencing, in which Belgium had competed each time the nation appeared at the Olympics. The Belgians had great success in the épée event, placing four fencers in the final and taking three of the top four places, including the gold and bronze medals. They also took the gold medal in the team épée event. These gold medals were the first Olympic championships won by Belgian fencers; the country's best result before 1912 was a bronze medal. Ragnar Wicksell

FencerEventRound 1QuarterfinalSemifinalFinal
RecordRankRecordRankRecordRankRecordRank
Henri Anspach Foil 1 loss1 Q1 loss1 Q3 losses4did not advance
Épée Bye0 losses1 Q2 losses3did not advance
Paul Anspach Foil 0 losses1 Q2 losses2 Q2 losses3did not advance
Épée 1 loss1 Q2 losses1 Q0 losses2 Q6–1Gold medal icon.svg
Marcel Berré Foil 0 losses1 Q3 losses4did not advance
Épée 4 losses6did not advance
Victor Boin Épée 0 losses1 Q2 losses2 Q2 losses1 Q4–34
Fernand de Montigny Foil 1 loss2 Q3 losses4did not advance
Épée 2 losses2 Q3 losses4did not advance
Robert Hennet Foil 1 loss1 Q1 loss1 Q3 losses5did not advance
Philippe Le Hardy de Beaulieu Épée 3 losses2 Q0 losses1 Q2 losses1 Q4–3Bronze medal icon.svg
Jacques Ochs Foil 1 loss1 Q3 losses4did not advance
Épée 1 loss1 Q4 losses4did not advance
Gaston Salmon Foil 3 losses4did not startdid not advance
Épée 3 losses4did not advance
Léon Tom Foil 0 losses1 Q4 losses5did not advance
Épée 2 losses2 Q1 losses1 Q1 losses1 Q1–67
Victor Willems Foil 1 loss1 Q1 loss1 Q3 losses3did not advance
Épée 3 losses4did not advance
Henri Anspach
Paul Anspach
Marcel Berré
Robert Hennet
Philippe le Hardy
Jacques Ochs
Gaston Salmon
Léon Tom
Team sabre N/A1–01 Q1–23did not advance
Henri Anspach
Paul Anspach
Fernand de Montigny
Robert Hennet
Jacques Ochs
François Rom
Gaston Salmon
Victor Willems
Team épée N/A1–01 Q2–12 Q3–0Gold medal icon.svg

Rowing

Six rowers represented Belgium. It was the nation's third appearance in rowing. Veirman took the silver medal in the single sculls, as Belgium took a single silver medal in rowing for the third time.

(Ranks given are within each crew's heat.)

RowerEventHeatsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
ResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRank
Polydore Veirman Single sculls 7:59.21 Q7:45.21 Q7:41.01 Q7:56.0Silver medal icon.svg
Léonard Nuytens (cox)
Georges Van Den Bossche
Edmond Vanwaes
Guillaume Visser
Georges Willems
Coxed four 7:15.01 QUnknown2did not advance

Wrestling

Greco-Roman

Belgium sent a single wrestler in 1912. It was the nation's second Olympic wrestling appearance, with the nation not having competed in the Olympics in 1896 or 1904 and wrestling not having been on the programme in 1900. Gerstmans, competing in the heavyweight class, lost his first two matches and was quickly eliminated.

WrestlerClassFirst roundSecond roundThird roundFourth roundFifth roundSixth roundSeventh roundFinal
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Opposition
Result
Match A
Opposition
Result
Match B
Opposition
Result
Match C
Opposition
Result
Rank
Laurent Gerstmans Heavyweight Flag of Sweden.svg  Lindstrand  (SWE)
L
Flag of Russia.svg  Backenius  (FIN)
L
did not advance12

References