Gijsbertus "Ben" Verhagen (29 September 1926 – 4 January 2020) was a sailor from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, who represented his country at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. Verhagen, as helmsman on the Dutch

Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' () is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the sea forever. The myths and ghost stories are likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dutch East India C ...

''Daisy'' (H102), took 5th place with crew Gerard Lautenschutz (race 1–5) and Jaap Helder (Race 6&7). During the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

and

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

he again helmed ''Daisy'' (H157/H187), this time with Nick de Jong, and finished in 6th and 18th place, respectively. For the 1976 Olympics Verhagen made an attempt in the Tempest but failed to qualify. He also tried the

Soling The Soling is an Keelboat, open keelboat that holds the World Sailing "International class" status. The class was used from the Sailing at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1972 Olympics until the Sailing at the 2000 Summer Olympics, 2000 Olympics as "Sa ...

in the late 1970s and the 1980s.

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Verhagen, Ben 1926 births 2020 deaths Sailors (sport) from Rotterdam Dutch male sailors (sport) Tempest class sailors Soling class sailors Sailors at the 1960 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1964 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Olympic sailors for the Netherlands 20th-century Dutch sportsmen