Siegfried Willem "Wim" Esajas[1] (16 April 1935 – 30 April 2005) was a middle-distance runner from Suriname, who qualified for the Athletics at the Men's 800 m event at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy and was supposed to be the first Surinamese Olympian. Esajas missed the event, and it was alleged that he overslept it,[2] whereas he was simply given a wrong starting time by Fred Glans, the head of Suriname's Olympic delegation.[1][3]
.jpg) Wim Essajas in 1960 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 April 1935 |
| Died | 30 April 2005 (aged 70) Paramaribo, Surinam |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Running |
Esajas was a multiple national record holder in the 800 m, 1500 m and 3000 m events in the 1950s, and was selected as the Surinamese Sportman of the Year in 1956.[4] He retired from sport after the 1960 Olympics, graduated in horticulture from a college in Deventer, the Netherlands, and returned to Suriname to grow flowers.[5]
In 2005, Suriname's Olympic Committee presented Esajas with a plaque honoring him as Suriname's first Olympian and with a letter of apology for the mistake made by its official in 1960. Esajas died two weeks later of an uncertain illness. He was survived by his son Werner.[3]
References edit
- ^ a b Stutgard, Ricky W. (1990) De eerste Surinaamse sportencyclopedie (1893–1988). Alberga, Paramaribo. ISBN 9991494936. p. 131
- ^ Maraniss, David (2008). Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World. Simon and Schuster. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-4391-0267-1.
- ^ a b Eerste Surinaamse olympiër overlijdt kort na rehabilitatie. volkskrant.nl. 2 May 2005
- ^ Stutgard, Ricky W. (1990) De eerste Surinaamse sportencyclopedie (1893–1988). Alberga, Paramaribo. ISBN 9991494936. pp. 19–20
- ^ Jamaludin, Rihana (23 January 2010) Van het verdriet van een atleet naar succesvolle sitcom.
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