Wil van Beveren

Wijnand "Wil" van Beveren was a Dutch sprinter who competed at the 1936 [Summer Olympics].

Biography

Van Beveren finished third behind Arthur Sweeney in the 220 yards event at the 1936 AAA Championships. One month later he was selected to represent the Netherlands at the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, where he competed in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4×100 metres relay and finished sixth in the 200 metres, running against Jesse Owens. In the relay, the Dutch team was close to a medal, but failed at a baton transfer.
Van Beveren won the British AAA Championships title in the 220 yards event at the 1938 AAA Championships. Shortly afterwards in September, Van Beveren was a medal favourite in the 100 metres at the 1938 [European Athletics Championships], but finished fourth.
He won three national titles, two in the 200 metres and one in 100 metres. After World War II, he retired from competitions and became a sports journalist, first with the weekly magazine Sport & Sportwereld and then with Emmer Courant. His two sons, Jan van Beveren and Wil van Beveren Jr., became professional football players.