A photo of the 1900 Summer Olympiccrew by an Unknown author – Wikimedia commons

Top 10 Facts about Johannes Drost


 

Johannes Drost was born on June 22, 1880 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He died on 18 September 1954 in Rotterdam. He was a Dutch backstroke swimmer and diver. Drost won in diving and swimming several medals at national championships.

Apart from taking part in Olympics as a professional swimmer and diver, Drost was also a lawyer, and he served on the board of various organizations, including the president of the International Bar Association. In the article are the top ten facts about Johannes Drost.

1. His father also called Johannes Drost

Johannes Drost father of Johannes Drost Junior and Johan George Drost was born on 21 Apr 1826 in Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands. Drost Sr was the son of Son of Johannes Drost and Maria Elisabet Uytdenbroeck.

Drost Sr was the husband of Lijdia Betz, mother of Johannes Drost Jr. They married on 15 Jan 1851 in Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands map. Johannes Drost Sr died 30 Dec 1910 at age 84 in Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands map.

2. Johannes Drost was a Cancerian

Cancer is the fourth astrological sign in the zodiac, originating from the constellation of Cancer. It spans from 90° to 120° celestial longitude. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun transits this area between approximately June 22 and July 22.

In astrology, Cancer is the cardinal sign of the Water trigon, which is made up of Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio. It is one of the six negative signs, and its ruling planet is the Moon. Johannes Drost was, therefore, a Cancerian.

3. Drost participated in the 1900 Summer Olympics

A photo of Fred Lane the winner of the 1900 swimming Olympics by an Unknown photographer – Wikimedia commons

The 1900 Summer Olympics, today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad and also known as Paris 1900, were an international multi-sport event that took place in Paris, France, from 14 May to 28 October 1900. No opening or closing ceremonies were held.

At the Sorbonne conference of 1894, Pierre de Coubertin proposed that the Olympic Games should take place in Paris in 1900. However, the delegates to the conference were unwilling to wait six years and lobbied to hold the first games in 1896. A decision was made to hold the first Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens and have Paris host the second Games.

Drost won the bronze medal in the 200 m backstroke event in a time of 3:01.0, narrowly beating compatriot Johannes Bloemen. Johannes Bloemen was a Dutch swimmer who competed in the men’s 200-meter backstroke at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

4. Drost won the first swimming medal ever for the Netherlands

It is not elaborated in Netherlands’ history in swimming if the 1900 SummerOlympics was the first event they sent their representatives to compete in or if they had been attending other such events but never won any medals, particularly in swimming.

Kind regards to Johannes Drost, the first man to make Netherland by at least bringing a bronze medal to their sports ministry, especially from the swimming team. After, Drost’s medal was the first Dutch Olympic swimming medal.

5. Drost also competed in other international competitions

Drost showcased a superb performance during the 1900 Summer Olympics. He, therefore, was eligible to push further his career to the peak. Johannes competed in places like Antwerp, Belgium, in the week after he competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics. He finished second in the 100 meters backstroke and won the diving competition.

6. Why was Drost not given a Silver medal in the 1900 Summer Olympics?

Photo of 1900 Olympic games poster by Jean de Paleologu (1855-1942) – Wikimedia commons

If you happened to be keen on the 1900 Summer Olympic games, there is not even a time when the gold medal was talked about. No athlete was given the gold medal. For instance, Johannes Drost was given a bronze medal instead of a silver medal.

According to the competition those who garnered first place in their various competitions were given silver medals. Those who took second place were given the bronze medal. That is why Drost was not given the silver medal instead he was given bronze for taking second place in2000-meter backstroke.

7. Johannes Drost was not chosen by the National team to represent his country

For the Olympic games before 1908, there is no universally accepted definition of nationality. For example, (out f topic of concern), Australian Stanley Rowley competed as part of the team selected by the Amateur Athletic Association of England.

The concept of national teams chosen by the National Olympic Committees did not exist at this time. So, nobody is sure who recruited Johannes Drost to the 1900 Summer Olympic games. However, it was not the national team of the Netherlands that recruited him because national teams did not exist then.

8. Johannes Drost competed alongside Karl Ruberl in the 1900 Summer Olympic

Karl Ruberl was an Austrian swimmer who competed in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the 200-meter events. He participated in swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris and won the silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke and the bronze medal in the 200-meter freestyle.

9. Was Drost aware that he was competing in the Olympic games?

The 1900 Summer Olympic games were held as part of the 1900 World’s Fair. In total, 997 competitors took part in 19 different sports from 28 countries. However, this number relies on certain assumptions about which events were and were not Olympics.

Many athletes, among them who won events, did not know that they had competed in the Olympics. So, it is not clear that Johannes Drost was not aware that he was competing in the Olympics.

There is no interview from him about the 1900 Summer Olympics. Therefore, we can’t anticipate that he was among the uninformed competitors in the event about the 1900 Summer Olympics.

10. It is not indicated what killed Johannes Drost

The cause of Johannes Drost is not known. However, it is known that he died on 18 September 1954 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He died at the age of 74. There is no speculation if he died a natural death because he already had stepped the 70-year mark, of a short-term illness, or a long-term illness. None about his marriage life is known.