Roelof Klein

Roelof Klein, who studied mechanical engineering at Delft, became the first Dutch Olympic champion together with François Brandt and an unknown French cox, who is possibly the youngest Olympic champion ever. Their original cox was Hermanus Brockmann, but with 60 kg he was much heavier than the coxswains of the competing crews, some of which used local boys. This switch won them 27 kg in weight, but they had to add five more kilogrammes as the boat’s rudder was now above water. Brandt and Klein took the lead from the start, finishing with just one fifth of a second left on the second-placed French team. Klein also rowed in the Dutch eight, which did use Brockmann as the coxswain, which according to the Dutch coach cost them first or second place. After receiving his diploma, Klein started working abroad for fuel company Shell, and emigrated to the United States in 1910. He died there in 1960.