Simon de Wit (24 August 1912 – 2 March 1976) was a Dutch

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

and the chief executive of the supermarket chain Simon de Wit. De Wit was born in 1912 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 ...

. His grandfather, also Simon de Wit, was the founder of the supermarket chain Simon de Wit. His father,

Maarten de Wit Maarten de Wit (30 May 1883 in Wormerveer – 30 March 1955 in Zaandam) was a sailor from the Netherlands who represented his native country at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. De Wit, as crew member on the Dutch 8 Metre ''Hollandia' ...

, represented the Netherlands 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 ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

. De Wit competed at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

with the men's coxed four where they came fourth. The same team also competed as a coxed four, with

Gerard Hallie Gerard Hallie (24 October 1911 – 7 July 2002) was a Dutch coxswain. He competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany ...

coxswain The coxswain ( or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the wiktionary:cockboat, cockboat, a ...

, and they were eliminated in round one. Four of the five coxed four members remained together and won silver at the 1937 European Rowing Championships 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 ...

. De Wit was also a successful sailor, 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 ...

at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

as well as the country's

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

. He remained Chef d'équipe for the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

and 1960 Games, and was 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 ...

. From 1943 to 1964, he was CEO of the family's supermarket chain.

References

1912 births 1976 deaths 20th-century Dutch businesspeople Dutch chief executives in the retail industry Dutch male rowers Dutch sports executives and administrators Olympic rowers for the Netherlands Rowers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Zaanstad Rowers from North Holland European Rowing Championships medalists 20th-century Dutch sportsmen {{Netherlands-rowing-bio-stub