John Slaets

John Slaets, better known mononymously as “John” during his sporting career, was an active member of the Royal Antwerp Bicycle Club the first two decades of the 20th century. The winner of a national title in 1908, Slaets took a brief break from the sport and competed intermittently throughout the 1910s, while he lived in Gheel and worked for a diamond manufacturer. By the beginning of 1920, Slaets began to train once again for the upcoming Olympic Games to be held in Antwerpen, and was eventually named to the Belgian cycling delegation for the track events. He competed in the 1,000 metres sprint and tandem 2,000 metres sprint events (alongside Leonard Daghelinckx), where he was eliminated in the repêchage and preliminary rounds respectively. Slaets competed in local events for a few years following the Olympics before retiring in the mid-1920s.