Philip Freylinck

The highlight of Philip Freylinck’s brief cycling career was the 1908 Summer Olympics, where he represented South Africa (then the Cape Colony) in four events – the 660 yard and 1000 metre sprints, the 2000 metre tandem sprint (with Floris Venter) and the 5000 metres – and was eliminated in the opening round every time. He committed suicide shortly after his appearance at the Games – according to a notice printed in The African World on January 9, 1909, “He was sitting on the side of his bed by his wife, in their house, when suddenly he pulled revolver from his pocket, and, placing it to his ear, fired, shattering the side of his head. He died two hours later.”