Jack Lauterwasser

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Olympic medal record
Men's Road Cycling
Silver	1928 Amsterdam	Individual time trial - team

Jack Lauterwasser (born 4 June 1904 – died 2 February 2003) was an English racing cyclist and cycling engineer, who won a silver medal as part of the British team competing in the individual time trial event at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.

Lauterwasser joined his local Finsbury Park cycling club and won his first 25-mile time trial before his 14th birthday. However, he moved on to specialise in longer distance time trials, including 12-hour events.

In Amsterdam, Lauterwasser finished fifth overall with a time of 5h 2m 57s for the 165km course. With team-mates Frank Southall finishing second and John Middleton 26th,^[1] Lauterwasser was part of a team originally placed third, but this was upgraded to the silver medal place after Italy was disqualified.

Apart from his Olympic success in 1928, Lauterwasser broke the national Road Records Association (RRA) 50-mile record by almost three minutes with a time of lhr 54m 47sec and the 100-mile by more than 18 minutes, clocking 4hr 13m 35sec.

A skilled mechanic, Lauterwasser opened a cycle shop in London in 1929, building machines to special order and patenting his handlebar design. He later worked for Britain’s major manufacturers until 1965 when he joined Alex Moulton at Bradford-on-Avon whose production of a unique suspension design for small-wheeled bicycles is credited with saving Britain's retail cycle trade. He continued working until he was 90, when a broken leg, following a fall in his home, finally ended his employment.

[edit] References

• The Times obituary, 7 February 2003

1. ^ History of Norwood Paragon CC - 1928