Harry Lamme

As a teenager, Harry Lamme started out swimming with Hilversum club HZC De Robben, which he would represent throughout his career. Initially a swimmer - he finished 5th in the 1952 Dutch 1,500 m freestyle championships - he was soon discovered as a water polo talent. First named in the Dutch seven in 1955, he helped advance his team into the top tier of Dutch water polo a year later. A solid fullback with a feared shot, he was also selected for the Melbourne Olympics but the Dutch boycotted these Games at the last moment over the Soviet crackdown of the Hungarian revolt. As captain, Lamme led the Dutch team at the 1958 European Championships, placing sixth.

Lamme retired from the national team in 1959, having to take over his father’s barber shop, but with the 1960 Rome Olympics on the horizon, he was asked to return and obliged, but was unable to propel the Dutch to success as they came in eighth. Although he retired from the national team after Rome - this time for good - Lamme remained a key player for his club. After leading HZC to its first title in 1960, his goal prevented relegation in 1964. Between 1967 and 1972, HZC and Lamme then earned six consecutive titles, before he would withdraw to once more focus on his business.