Jan Erik Vollebregt (born 10 December 1954, in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

) is a

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

from the Netherlands who represented his native country at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. With twin brother

Sjoerd Vollebregt Sjoerd Steven Vollebregt (born 10 December 1954, in Leiden) is a sailing (sport), sailor from the Netherlands who represented his native country at the Sailing at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman, 1976 Summer Olympics in Kingston, On ...

as crew, Vollebregt finished 14th in the

Sailing at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman The Flying Dutchman was a sailing event on the Sailing at the 1976 Summer Olympics program in Kingston, Ontario. Seven races were scheduled with 40 sailors, on 20 boats, from 20 nations competing. Results DNF = Did Not Finish, DNS= Did Not S ...

. Since in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

the Netherlands

boycotted A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict ...

the Moscow Olympics, Vollebregt represented his National Olympic Committee under the Dutch NOC flag in the

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 ...

. Again with his brother as crew, he took 7th place. After the 1980 Olympics Vollebregt started a new Olympic Flying Dutchman campaign for the

1984 Olympics The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an i ...

with Eddy Huisman but finally failed to qualify.

Controversions

* 1976: :During the selection for the

Dutch Olympic Sailing Team The Royal Netherlands Watersport Association () is the national governing body for the sports of sailing, surfing, and canoeing in the Netherlands, recognised by World Sailing, the global governing body for the sport of sailing. History The org ...

for the

1976 Olympics 1976 Olympics refers to both: *The 1976 Winter Olympics, which were originally to be held in Denver, United States, but relocated to Innsbruck, Austria *The 1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of t ...

a controversy emerged between twelve sailors and the selection committee chaired by

André du Pon André du Pon (30 August 1924, in Amsterdam – 24 May 2006, in Medemblik) was a sailor from the Netherlands] who was three times chef d'équipe for the Dutch Olympic Sailing team. Du Pon led his teams during the Sailing at the 1976 Summer Olym ...

Fred Imhoff Ferdinand "Fred" Helmuth Imhoff (born 15 February 1942 in The Hague) is a sailor from the Netherlands, who represented his country at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Kiel, Germany as helmsman in the Flying Dutchman ''Brave Henderik IV'' (H-230). Wit ...

and

Heike Blok Heike may refer to: * Heike (name), a (not exclusively) feminine given name and a surname * Taira clan The was one of the four most important Japanese clans, clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period, Heian period of Hi ...

, two sailors hoping to be selected, filed suit, arguing that

Frieda Vollebergt Frida, Frieda, or Freida may refer to: People and fictional characters *Frida (given name), any of several people or characters ** * Frieda (surname), any of several people or characters * Afroditi Frida (born 1964), Greek singer *Frida (singe ...

, the communications person for the sailing team, was partial: as mother of Erik, Sjoerd, and Peter Vollebregt, all candidates for the 1976 Olympic sailing event, she was accused of having a bias towards her children. In the end Imhoff and Blok lost the

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

and were removed from the 1976 selection. During this period Vollebregt's father,

Jan Vollebregt Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Nu ...

, was president of the

Koninklijk Nederlands Watersport Verbond The Royal Netherlands Watersport Association () is the national governing body for the sports of sailing, surfing, and canoeing in the Netherlands, recognised by World Sailing, the global governing body for the sport of sailing. History The org ...

(Dutch Yacht Racing Union). * 1980: :Several countries did

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

, others like

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

did not go since they found the competition devaluated. As result only half of the expected fleet was present during the Olympic regattas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vollebregt, Erik Living people 1954 births Sportspeople from Leiden Sailors (sport) from South Holland Dutch male sailors (sport) 470 class world champions Sailors at the 1976 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Sailors at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Olympic sailors for the Netherlands Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands World champions in sailing for the Netherlands 20th-century Dutch sportsmen

Controversions

Further reading

1976 Olympics (Kingston)

1980 Olympics (Tallinn)

References