Alida "Alie" Johanna van den Bos (18 January 1902, in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

– 16 July 2003, in Amsterdam) was a Dutch

gymnast Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

who competed in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

. She won the gold medal as member of the Dutch gymnastics team. She began gymnastics when she was 16. Reflecting on her training experience in the run-up to the Olympics, she said that their coach had them begin practicing outdoors on weekends in the last two months before the Games, as the competition would be held outside rather than in a gym. After the Olympics, she became a teacher but stayed involved in gymnastics. She was a coach for the Dutch team that placed fifth at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

. In 2000, when she was 98 years old, she was awarded the silver

Olympic Order The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Tradit ...

. Van den Bos died in 2003 at age 101. She was the last member of the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics gymnastics team to die and was the oldest Olympic champion at the time of her death. Her coach, four of her female teammates, and seven of the men were murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, most of them in the Sobibor concentration camp.

References

External links

Alida van den Bos' profile at databaseOlympics
1902 births 2003 deaths Dutch women centenarians Dutch female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Olympic gymnasts for the Netherlands Gymnasts from Amsterdam Olympic medalists in gymnastics Recipients of the Olympic Order Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics 20th-century Dutch sportswomen 21st-century Dutch women {{Netherlands-Olympic-medalist-stub