René Vingerhoet

Starting out as a water polo player, René Vingerhoet switched to rowing as a teenager and stayed with the sport the rest of his life. He competed in the 1935 European Championships and 1936 Olympics, but had a much longer career as a rowing coach. The Belgian national team coach at the 1968 Olympics, he later individually coached numerous rowers, including three time Olympian Claude Dehombreux. He also co-founded the Brugse Trim en Roeivereniging (Bruges), which produced Olympic medallist Ann Haesebrouck.