Victor Boin (28 February 1886 – 31 March 1974) was a Belgian

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player, and

épée The (, ; ), also rendered as epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains a ...

fencer who competed at the

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

and

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

Olympics

Boin was part of the Belgian water polo teams that finished second in 1908 and third in 1912. In 1908 he also participated in the 100 metre freestyle swimming competition, but was eliminated in the first round. As a fencer he finished fourth in the individual épée competition in 1912. In 1920 he was eliminated in the first round of the individual épée event, but won a silver medal in the team épée event. Victor Boin 1920

Boin took the first ever

Olympic Oath The Olympic Oath (distinct from the Olympic creed) is a solemn promise made by one athlete, judge or official, and one coach at the Opening Ceremony of each Olympic Games. Each oath taker is from the host nation and takes the oath on behalf of a ...

at the 1920 Games in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, where he was also the Belgium flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony. Later, between 1955 and 1965, he served as president of the

Belgian Olympic Committee Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

Other activities

Boin was also active in

ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...

flying Flying may refer to: * Flight, the process of flying * Aviation, the creation and operation of aircraft Music Albums * '' Flying (Cody Fry album)'', 2017 * ''Flying'' (Grammatrain album), 1997 * ''Flying'' (Jonathan Fagerlund album), 2008 * ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, and

motorcycle racing The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...

. In 1903, aged 17, he founded the first Belgian ice hockey club and became its first president. Boin worked as a sports journalist, theater critic and sports official. In 1912 he founded the Belgian Professional Association of Sports Journalists, and headed it from 1923 to 1935. In 1924 he co-founded the International Sports Journalists' Association; he served as its first vice-president, and later became its president. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he joined the Belgian Air Force, eventually becoming the personal pilot of Queen Elisabeth.

Trophy Victor Boin

Victor Boin was co-founder and first president of the Belgian Paralympic Committee. In 1974, the year of his death, the Belgian Paralympic Committee created the Trophy Victor Boin in his honor. The Trophy is awarded once a year to either a Paralympic athlete in regards of his/her achievements in the previous year or to honor his entire career or to an individual for his career and/or important role in the Belgian Paralympic movement. The Trophy Victor Boin can only be won once.

References

Bibliography

* * Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). ''The Complete Book of the Olympics – 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press, Limited. pp. 607, 1050.

External links