Maarten de Wit (30 May 1883 in

Wormerveer Wormerveer is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zaanstad, and lies about 13 km (8 miles) northwest of Amsterdam. Wormerveer developed in the 15th century on the west bank of the Zaan river. ...

– 30 March 1955 in

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan ...

) was 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 , 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 native country at 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 ...

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 ...

. De Wit, as crew member on the Dutch 8 Metre ''Hollandia'', took the 2nd place with helmsman

Johannes van Hoolwerff Johannes Cornelis van Hoolwerff (13 April 1878 in Hoorn – 2 August 1962 in Heemstede) was a sailor from the Netherlands, who represented his native country at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. Van Hoolwerff, as helmsman on the Dutch 8&nb ...

and fellow crew members: Lambertus Doedes, Cornelis van Staveren, Henk Kersken and

Gerard de Vries Lentsch Gerardus "Gerard" de Vries Lentsch (23 November 1883, Nieuwendam, North Holland – 9 July 1973, Oegstgeest) was a sailing (sport), sailor from the Netherlands, who represented his native country at the Sailing at the 1928 Summer Olympics – 8 m ...

. De Wit was the son of Simon de Wit (1852–1934), founder of the Simon de Wit supermarket chain, of which Maarten was a director. His son, Simon de Wit (1912–1976), who was CEO from 1943 to 1964, was a successful sailor and rower as well and was Chef d'équipe of 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 ...

in 1952, 1956 and 1960 as well as Chef de Mission of the Dutch Olympic team at 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 ...

Sources

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References

1883 births 1955 deaths 20th-century Dutch businesspeople Dutch male sailors (sport) Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic sailors for the Netherlands Olympic medalists in sailing Olympic silver medalists for the Netherlands Sailors at the 1928 Summer Olympics – 8 Metre Sportspeople from Zaanstad Sailors (sport) from North Holland 20th-century Dutch sportsmen {{Netherlands-Olympic-medalist-stub