Jēkabs Bukse

Jēkabs Bukse was a three-time Baltic champion in the 100-mile race (1907-09) before he competed in the road time trial at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm. He did not finish the race and retired between Läggesta and Strängnäs, about one-quarter into the race. The Russian team was not counted for the team event, as only one member finished the race. Subsequently, he focused more on motorcycle racing and finished, for instance, fourth in the Moscow-St. Petersburg-Moscow road race.

Bukse owned a bicycle repair shop and became also the local representative of the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA), at the time a major manufacturer of weapons, bicycles, and motorcycles. His wife was Anna Bukse (née Sīpola). In the 1940s, Jēkabs Bukse was a victim of Stalin’s repressions and was deported to the Usolye Corrective Labor Camp (Usollag) in June 1941. Less than one year later, he died in the camp, where he was subjected to forced labour in the forestry industry.