- Toni Merkens
Toni Merkens (born
June 21 ,1912 inCologne , diedJune 20 ,1944 inWildbad ) was a cyclist fromGermany and Olympic champion. He represented his native country at the1936 Summer Olympics inBerlin , where he received the gold medal in the men's 1000 meter match sprint event. [ [http://www.databaseolympics.com/games/gamessport.htm?g=11&sp=CYC "1936 Summer Olympics – Berlin, Germany – Cycling"] "databaseOlympics.com" (Retrieved on August 27, 2008)]Merkens learned bicycle mechanics at Fritz Köthke. In 1933 he won his first German championship in Radsprint. In 1934, he was able to repeat this success and also won the British Championships and the
Grand Prix sprinter inParis . At the World Cup he won fourth place. In 1935 he again won the championships in Germany and the UK and the Paris Grand Prix. At the World Championships inBrussels , he also won the title in the final against Dutch cyclistArie van Vliet .During the first race of the 1936 Olympic final, Merkens clearly interfered with Arie van Vliet, but no foul was called by the officials. Van Vliet also lost the second race of the final and received the silver medal. After a protest by the Dutch team, Merkens, rather than being disqualified, was fined 100 marks. [Wallechinsky, David (2004). "The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics",
Toronto : Sport Classic Books. ISBN 1-894963-34-2]Merkens turned professional immediately after the 1936 Olympics. In 1937 and 1939, he was German Vice Champion in the sprint. In 1940 he was the German champion in Steherrennen, and was Vice Champion in 1941. In 1942 he won the German professional championship in the sprint and was Vice Champion with the Stehern.
Merkens was killed in
World War II fighting the Russians on theEastern Front . He was struck between the heart and lungs by a shell splinter, and died in a hospital in Wildbad.References
Literature
*Volker Kluge (1997). "Olympische Sommerspiele. Die Chronik I", Berlin. ISBN 3-328-00715-6
*Pascal Sergent, Guy Crasset, Hervé Dauchy (2000). "Mondial Encyclopedie Cyclisme". Volume 3 G-P, UCI. ISBN 90-74128-73-4
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