Belgium at the 1928 Summer Olympics
IOC code	BEL
NOC	Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee
Website	www.olympic.be (in Dutch and French)
in Amsterdam
Competitors	187 (176 men, 11 women) in 15 sports
Medals Ranked 29th	Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze 2 Total 3
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Belgium competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 187 competitors, 176 men and 11 women, took part in 90 events in 15 sports.^[1]

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Silver	Edmond Spapen	Wrestling	Men's freestyle bantamweight	1 August
Bronze	Léonard Steyaert	Boxing	Men's middleweight	11 August
Bronze	Georges Anthony, François de Coninck, Léon Flament	Rowing	Men's coxed pair	10 August

Athletics

32 athletes, 24 men and 8 women, represented Belgium in 1928. It was the nation's 5th appearance in the sport. It was the first time women's events were held in the sport.

Men

Track & road events

Field events

Combined events – Decathlon

Women

Track & road events

Field events

Boxing

Two men represented Belgium in boxing in 1928. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. Both men reached the round of 16 (Sartos by winning his first bout, Anneet with a bye), but were defeated there.

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / Bronze match
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Robert Sartos	Men's flyweight	Hyman Miller (USA) W points	Carlo Covagnioli (ITA) L points	Did not advance			9
Adrien Anneet	Men's welterweight	Bye	Cor Blommers (NED) L points	Did not advance			9

Cycling

Eight cyclists, all men, represented Belgium in 1928. It was the nation's 6th appearance in the sport, in which Belgium had competed every time that Belgium had sent an Olympic team. For the first time since 1912, Belgium won no cycling medals.

Road

Track

Time trial

Match races

Equestrian

Nine riders, all men, represented Belgium in the equestrian events in 1928. It was Belgium's 5th appearance in the sport; Belgium was one of 3 nations (along with France and the United States) to compete in every Olympic equestrian competition to date. For the second time in a row, Belgium won no medals.

Dressage

Eventing

Jumping

Fencing

21 fencers, 18 men and 3 women, represented Belgium in 1928. It was the nation's 6th appearance in the sport. Women fencers represented Belgium for the first time; Belgium had not had any entrants in the inaugural women's fencing competition in 1924. Belgium had three 4th-place finishes and four other final pool competitors, but won no medals. It was the first time since 1900 (Belgium's first appearance) that the nation failed to medal in the sport.

Football

Summary

Team	Event	Prelim.	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Belgium men's	Men's tournament	Bye	Luxembourg W 5–3	Argentina L 6–3	Did not advance		5

Men's tournament

Belgium competed in men's football for the fourth time in 1928. The team beat Luxembourg in the round of 16 but was defeated by eventual silver medalists Argentina in the quarterfinals.

Team roster

Head coach: Victor Löwenfelt

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club
-	4FW	Henri Bierna	(1905-09-02)2 September 1905 (aged 22)		US Liège
-	3MF	Gustave Boesman	(1899-01-19)19 January 1899 (aged 29)		K.A.A. Gent
-	3MF	Pierre Braine	(1900-10-26)26 October 1900 (aged 27)		K. Beerschot V.A.C.
-	4FW	Raymond Braine	(1907-04-28)28 April 1907 (aged 21)		Beerschot
-	1GK	Jean Caudron	(1895-11-15)15 November 1895 (aged 32)		R.S.C. Anderlecht
-	1GK	Jean De Bie	(1892-05-09)9 May 1892 (aged 36)		Racing Club de Bruxelles
-	4FW	Leon De Coninck			La Gantoise
-	2DF	Henri De Deken	(1907-08-03)3 August 1907 (aged 20)		Royal Antwerp F.C.
-	4FW	Georges De Spae	(1900-09-30)30 September 1900 (aged 27)		K.A.A. Gent
-	4FW	Gérard Devos	(1903-08-19)19 August 1903 (aged 24)		Cercle Brugge
-	4FW	Jan Diddens	(1908-09-14)14 September 1908 (aged 19)		K.R.C. Mechelen
-	3MF	Georges Ditzler	15 November 1897 (aged 30)		Standard Liège
-	3MF	Auguste Hellemans	(1907-09-14)14 September 1907 (aged 20)		K.V. Mechelen
-	2DF	Nicolas Hoydonckx	(1900-12-29)29 December 1900 (aged 27)		Berchem Sport
-	2DF	Jules Lavigne	(1901-03-10)10 March 1901 (aged 27)		Racing Club de Bruxelles
-	4FW	Jacques Moeschal	(1900-09-06)6 September 1900 (aged 27)		Racing Club de Bruxelles
-	2DF	August Ruyssevelt	(1896-11-04)4 November 1896 (aged 31)		Beerschot
-	3MF	Henri Van Averbeke	(1901-10-26)26 October 1901 (aged 26)		K. Beerschot V.A.C.
-	3MF	Florimond Vanhalme	(1895-03-21)21 March 1895 (aged 33)		Cercle Brugge
-	4FW	Sébastien Verhulst	(1907-02-19)19 February 1907 (aged 21)		Beerschot
-	4FW	Louis Versyp	(1908-12-05)5 December 1908 (aged 19)		Club Brugge
-	4FW	Bernard Voorhoof	(1910-05-10)10 May 1910 (aged 18)		Lierse S.K.

Round of 16

27 May 1928
19:00

Belgium	5–3	Luxembourg
R. Braine 9', 72' Versijp 20' Moeschal 23', 67'	Report	Schutz 31' Weisgerber 42' Theissen 44'

Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam

Attendance: 5,834

Referee: Lorenzo Martínez (ARG)

Quarterfinals

2 June 1928
16:00

Argentina	6–3	Belgium
Tarasconi 1', 10', 75', 89' Ferreira 4' Orsi 81'	Report	R. Braine 24' Vanhalme 28' Moeschal 53'

Olympic Stadium, Amsterdam

Attendance: 16,399

Referee: Gamma Malcher (ITA)

Consolation tournament, First round

5 June 1928 (1928-06-05)

14:00

Netherlands	3–1	Belgium
Ghering 4' Smeets 6' Tap 63'	Report	P. Braine 85'

Stadion Spangen, Rotterdam

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Achille Gama (Italy)

Hockey

Belgium competed in men's field hockey for the second time. The team, which had won bronze in the previous tournament in 1920, reached the bronze medal match in 1928. There, they lost to Germany and finished in 4th place.

Summary

Team	Event	Group stage					Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank	Opposition Score	Rank
Belgium men's	Men's tournament	India L 9–0	Switzerland W 3–0	Austria W 4–0	Denmark W 1–0	2 QB	Germany L 3–0	4

Men's tournament

Team roster

The following is the Belgium roster in the men's field hockey tournament of the 1928 Summer Olympics.^[2]

Group play

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	India	4	4	0	0	26	0	+26	8	Gold medal match
2	Belgium	4	3	0	1	8	9	−1	6	Bronze medal match
3	Denmark	4	2	0	2	5	8	−3	4
4	Switzerland	4	1	0	3	2	11	−9	2
5	Austria	4	0	0	4	1	14	−13	0

18 May 1928 16:30 India  9–0  Belgium Seaman  5', 55' Marthins  19' Khan  28', 29', 36', ?', ?' Chand  31' Report Umpires: W. Simon (GER) T. Evekink (NED)

20 May 1928 16:00 Belgium  3–0   Switzerland Delheid  15' Diercxsens  34' Vercken  68' Report Umpires: A. Broese van Croenou (NED) F. Schiff (NED)

22 May 1928 19:00 Belgium  4–0  Austria Diercxsens  ?', ?', ?' Baudoux  68' Report Umpires: E. W. C. Ricketts (IND) B. Turnbull (IND)

24 May 1928 16:00 Denmark  0–1  Belgium Report Seeldrayers  60' Umpires: W. Simon (GER) R. Be-Cavin (SUI)

Bronze match

26 May 1928 14:00 Germany  3–0  Belgium Haag  ?', ?', ?' Report Olympisch Stadion, Amsterdam Attendance: 23,400 Umpires: B. Turnbull (IND) W. C. Ricketts (IND)

Modern pentathlon

Belgium had the maximum number of pentathletes, three men, in 1928. It was the nation's 2nd appearance in the sport.

Rowing

21 men represented Belgium in rowing in 1928. It was the nation's 6th appearance in the sport, matching Canada and Great Britain for the most. Belgium entered boats in 6 of the 7 events. None of the boats reached the final in its event, but the coxed pair boat won a bronze medal by being one of the three boats to reach the semifinals. It was Belgium's first medal in the sport since 1912.

Rower	Event	Round 1		Repechage 1		Round 2		Repechage 2		Round 3		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Jack Mottart	Men's single sculls	8:14.8	2 R	8:17.0	2	Did not advance
Philippe Van Volckxsom Carlos Van den Driessche	Men's coxless pair	8:15.0	2 R	8:36.4	2	Did not advance				—		Did not advance
André Houppelyne Achille Mengé	Men's double sculls	8:05.6	2 R	7:56.6	2	Did not advance
Léon Flament François de Coninck Georges Anthony (cox)	Men's coxed pair	8:58.4	1 Q	Bye		8:02.4	2 R	Walkover	1 Q	—		7:59.4	2 ()	Did not advance
Jean Bauwens Theo Wambeke Alphonse De Wette Charles Van Son Maurice Delplanck (cox)	Men's coxed four	7:41.8	1 Q	Bye		7:55.4	1 Q	Bye		7:30.2	2	Did not advance
Marcel Roman H. Micha J. Jonlet A. Lambrecht André Lemaire Victor Denis R. Macors J. Van Malderen Georges Anthony (cox)	Men's eight	6:47.0	1 R	6:47.8	2	Did not advance

Sailing

6 men represented Belgium in sailing in 1928. It was the nation's 4th appearance in the sport. Belgium had boats in 2 of the 3 events.

Dinghy

6 metre and 8 metre classes

Swimming

Five men represented Belgium in swimming in 1928. It was the nation's 6th appearance in the sport, in which Belgium competed each time Belgium had appeared at the Summer Olympics. None of the Belgian swimmers reached the finals of their events.

Water polo

Belgium competed in men's water polo for the 6th time. For the first time, Belgium failed to win a medal; the team fell to eventual gold medalist Germany in the quarterfinals.

Summary

Team	Event	Round of 16	Quarterfinal	Semifinal	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Belgium men's	Men's tournament	Ireland W 11–1	Germany L 5–3	Did not advance		5

Men's tournament

Team roster

Head coach:

Round of 16

5 August 1928	OR p. 808	Belgium	11–1	Ireland	Amsterdam Referees: R. Morberger (AUT)
		Scoring by half: 6–0, 5–1

Quarterfinals

6 August 1928	OR p. 811	Belgium	3–5	Germany	Amsterdam Referees: J. Hodgson (GBR)
		Scoring by half: 2–0, 1–3 OT: 0–2

Weightlifting

Eight men represented Belgium in weightlifting in 1928. It was the nation's 3rd appearance in the sport.

Wrestling

13 men represented Belgium in wrestling in 1928. Belgium was one of 3 nations (along with Finland and France) to have a wrestler in each event. It was the nation's 5th appearance in the sport. Spapen won Belgium's only wrestling medal in 1928, a silver.

Freestyle

Athlete	Event	Gold medal rounds				Silver medal rounds		Bronze medal rounds		Rank
		Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final	Semifinals	Final	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result
Edmond Spapen	Men's bantamweight	—	Trifunov (CAN) W	Mäkinen (FIN) L	Did not advance	Bye	Sansum (GBR) W	Already ranked
Pierre Bressinck	Men's featherweight	Bye	Morrison (USA) L	Did not advance		Minder (SUI) L	Did not advance	Not qualified		5
Jean Smet	Men's lightweight	Bye	Nilsen (NOR) L	Did not advance		Not qualified				8
Hyacinthe Roosen	Men's welterweight	Jacobsen (DEN) W	Letchford (CAN) L	Did not advance		Not qualified				7
Louis Van Der Herten	Men's middleweight	Bye	Hammonds (USA) L	Did not advance		Not qualified				8
Jacques Van Assche	Men's light heavyweight	—	Rowe (GBR) W	Edwards (USA) L	Did not advance	Not qualified				5
Léon Charlier	Men's heavyweight	—	Wernli (SUI) L	Did not advance		Not qualified				6

Greco-Roman

Athlete	Event	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Rank
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result
Pierre Mollin	Men's bantamweight	Bye	Ahlfors (FIN) L Fall 3pts	Gozzi (ITA) L Fall 6pts	Did not advance			—	9
Jacques Dillen	Men's featherweight	Meyer (DEN) W Decision 1pt	Egeberg (NOR) W Decision 2pts	Steinig (GER) L Decision 5pts	Did not advance				9
Frits Janssens	Men's lightweight	Parisel (FRA) W Fall 0pts	Borges (DEN) W Decision 1pt	Sperling (GER) L Fall 4pts	Massop (NED) L Fall 7pts	Did not advance			8
Jean Saenen	Men's middleweight	Poilvé (FRA) W Decision 1pt	Balkema (NED) W Fall 1pt	Papp (HUN) L Fall 4pts	Baytorun (TUR) W Fall 4pts	Kusnets (EST) L Fall 7pts	Did not advance	—	5
Nicolas Appels	Men's light heavyweight	Moustafa (EGY) L Fall 3pts	Clody (FRA) W Fall 3pts	Vávra (TCH) W Fall 3pts	Bye	Rieger (GER) L Fall 6pts	Did not advance	—	4
Gustave Colpaert	Men's heavyweight	Urban (TCH) L Fall 3pts	Donati (ITA) L Fall 6pts	Did not advance				—	11

Art competitions