As an amateur Swiss cyclist Rolf Graf finished 17th in the individual road race at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, almost seven minutes behind the race winner. At the Games Graf also had the honour of being the flagbearer for Switzerland at the Closing Ceremony. He turned professional one year later, with his first major win coming at the 1954 edition of the Gent–Wevelgem one-day classic. Two years later he did the double of becoming the Swiss national road race champion and winning the Tour de Suisse stage race.
In 1959 Graf won his second national road title, along with two stages of the Tour de France and a stage at the Giro d’Italia. His good form continued with him winning another stage at the Tour de France one year later, along with a third national road race title in 1962. One year later, however, Graf had a car crash whilst in Italy from which he never fully recovered, ending his cycling career in 1964.
Switzerland