Maurice MEWIS

Maurice Mewis was a Belgian wrestler who competed at four Olympic Games, from 1952-64, placing fourth in flyweight Greco-Roman in 1964 at Tokyo. Mewis won two major international medals, with a bronze at the 1953 World Championships and the  1966 European Championships. He also placed fourth in the Worlds in 1951 and 1958. He retired in 1967 to become wrestling coach of the Belgian national team. Dissatisfied with the state of Belgian wrestling, he later returned to compete once at the 1975 Belgian Championships, which he won. Maurice's younger brother, Jef, was also a successful (freestyle) wrestler, earning an Olympic silver medal in the 1956 featherweight division. Julien Mewis, Maurice's son, competed as a wrestler in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics. Maurice died after a long health struggle in which he underwent heart surgery and suffered with dementia in his later years.