Leopoldus Eduardus Theoduris "Leo" Pelen ( Dutch: Leopoldus Eduardus Theoduris "Leo" Peelen ; July 16, 1968 , Arnhem - March 24, 2017 , Apeldoorn ) - Dutch track cyclist , specialist in spectacle racing . He played in the Dutch national team in the late 1980s, silver medalist at the Seoul Summer Olympics , bronze medalist at the World Championships in Lyon , six-time champion of national championships.
 Leo Pelen | |
|---|---|
| niderl. Leo peelen | |
 Leo Pelen in 1988 | |
| personal information | |
| Birth name | |
| Citizenship |  Netherlands |
| Date of Birth | July 16, 1968 |
| Place of Birth | Arnhem , Belgium |
| Date of death | March 24, 2017 (48 years old) |
| A place of death | Apeldoorn , Belgium |
| Height | 195 cm |
| The weight | 85 kg |
| Racer Information | |
| Specialization | , , , |
Biography
Leo Pelen was born July 16, 1968 in the city of Arnhem , Gelderland province, the Netherlands . He began to seriously engage in cycling at the age of ten, was trained at the local sports club Wielervereniging RETO.
He first made his name in 1983 by winning the track championship of the Netherlands in the points race. In the course of further appearances, a total of five more times became the champion of the country in various track disciplines: twice in the points race (1984, 1985), once in the individual pursuit race (1986) and twice in madison (1987, 1988).
He achieved the greatest success in his sports career in the 1988 season, when he joined the Dutch national team and thanks to a series of successful performances he was awarded the right to defend the country's honor at the Seoul Summer Olympics . As a result, he took second place in the points race, losing only to Dan Dan Frost , and thus won a silver Olympic medal. He also played here in the team pursuit, but together with his partners took only the twelfth place at the preliminary stage and could not qualify further.
Becoming a silver Olympic medalist, Pelen remained in the main track team of the Netherlands and continued to take part in major international competitions. So, in 1989 he visited the track world championship in Lyon , from where he brought the bronze dignity award won in the 50 km points race among amateurs - in this discipline he was beaten only by Italian Fabio Baldato and Soviet cyclist Marat Satybaldiev . In 1990, he won the Berlin Tour Tour . Subsequently, he remained an active athlete until 1991, although in recent years he no longer showed any significant achievements.
After completing his sports career, he did not leave cycling - he worked as a coach, was an official of the Netherlands Cycling Federation. He acted as the organizer and chairman of the annual bike festival in the city of Beck [1] . He took part in the charity race Alpe d'HuZes, raising funds to fight cancer [2] .
On March 24, 2017, he was found dead in one of the premises of the indoor velodrome in Apeldoorn . It is known that shortly before his death, he visited a local medical center [3] .
Notes
- β http://www.wielersportbeek.nl Archived July 20, 2006.
- β Alpe d'HuZes
- β Oud-baanwielrenner Peelen (48) onverwachts overleden (nid.) . NU.nl (March 25, 2017). Date of appeal March 25, 2017.
Links
- Leo Pelen - Olympic statistics at Sports-Reference.com
- Pelen, Leo on Cycling Archives