Joseph Pletincx

Joseph Pletincx is one of the few water polo players to have won medals at four consecutive Olympics (1908-1924), three silver and one bronze. His name is variably spelled Pletincx or Pletinckx, but Pletincx is on his birth certificate. In 1926 he was captain of the Belgian team that won the first European Championship in water polo. With his club Cercle de Natation de Bruxelles, Pletincx was a 13-time Belgian champion and won another 13 national titles in swimming over various distances between 400 and 1,200 m. After his active career, he stayed connected with the swimming sport as a coach and official. In 1988 Pletincx was the first swimmer from Belgium to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.