South Africa’s George Estman was a road and track cyclist who represented his country at two Olympic Games. In 1948 Estman competed in the road race at the London Games but did not finish the course. Four years later he was part of the South African team that competed in races against a six-man British team on their tour of South Africa. The tour spanned six weeks and was used as a selection process for both teams for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Estman once again competed in the road race, but this time he was one of a handful of riders who were disqualified. He had better fortunes on the track, however, when he won silver in the 4,000 metres team pursuit.
Away from cycling Estman worked in foundries all his life after completing an apprenticeship when he was 16-years-old. As a moulder he worked at several foundries in and around Gauteng. In 1994 he established Viking Foundry near Johannesburg with his son, Grant, with the company’s name and emblem coming from his Finnish origins.
South Africa