Jack Heid (June 26, 1924 – May 27, 1987) was an American

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

. He competed in the

time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

and the

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace * Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automobiles *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, a rebadged v ...

events 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 1948, Heid moved to Europe to compete in the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

in London. He reached the quarterfinals in the sprint and finished seventh in the 1000-meter time trial. The following year, he finished third in the amateur sprint at the

UCI Track World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

. He was coached by

Jackie Simes Jackie Simes (born November 20, 1942) is an American track cyclist. He competed in the sprint event at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britai ...

, with whom he also competed in tandem races. Heid was considered a pioneer of American cycling, as he was the first American cyclist to race in Europe after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. At first he remained an amateur and made a living selling contraband. In the early 1950s he turned professional and settled in England. At the

1950 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 1950 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place in Rocourt, Belgium in 1950. Five events for men were contested, three for professionals and two for amateurs. Medal summary Medal ...

, he finished eighth in the sprint. That year, he married a Belgian woman and originally wanted to take Belgian citizenship. However, in 1951 he returned to the United States and competed in six-day races; in 1957 he finished third in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

with

Mino De Rossi Mino De Rossi (21 May 1931 – 7 January 2022) was an Italian road and track cyclist, who won the gold medal in the men's 4.000m team pursuit at the 1952 Summer Olympics, alongside Marino Morettini, Loris Campana and Guido Messina. He was a pro ...

. Heid and his wife resided in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, while owning a

chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-su ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. In 1987 he died in a fire in the chalet at the age of 62. In 1989, he was posthumously inducted into the

United States Bicycling Hall of Fame The United States Bicycling Hall of Fame, located in Davis, California, is a private 501c3 non-profit organization formed to preserve and promote the sport of cycling. The organization was founded in 1986 in Somerville, New Jersey and has induct ...

. Heid also competed on the road, winning the 1957

Tour of Somerville The Tour of Somerville is an annual, three-day series of bicycle races held in and around Somerville, New Jersey, during Memorial Day weekend. The featured Memorial Day event, the Kugler-Anderson 50-mile race for professional and elite cyclists is ...

References

External links

* 1924 births 1987 deaths American male cyclists American track cyclists Olympic cyclists for the United States Cyclists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Cyclists from New York City 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-cycling-bio-1920s-stub