André Nelis ranks as one of the all-time best Belgian sailors. Sailing in the Finn class, his greatest opponent was four-time Olympic champion Paul Elvstrøm of Denmark. Nelis defeated him in the inaugural 1956 Finn Gold Cup - which has World Championship status for the Finn class - but lost the Olympic gold to him later in the year in Melbourne. Elvstrøm also beat the Belgian in the 1958 and 1959 Gold Cup, the 1960 European Championships and the 1960 Olympics. But Nelis’ prize cabinet features two Finn Gold Cups (1956, 1961), one European title (1957) and nine additional medals, including two from the Olympics (silver in Melbourne and bronze in Rome).
During the later years of his racing career, Nelis started building boats based on his winning yacht, named HVM Finn. He later turned to sail making, first with Dutch outfit Gaastra, later opening his own company in Antwerp. A fire ravaged his company in 1984, along with his two Olympic medals. Fellow Belgian sailor and IOC president Jacques Rogge presented him with replacements 25 years later.
Belgium