Lode Alphonse WOUTERS

Lode Wouters won a gold medal in the team road race at the 1948 Olympics, while winning a bronze in the individual event. But it took awhile for him to get his gold medal. He and his teammates, Eugène Van Roosbroeck and Léon De Lathouwer, did not realize there was a team competition in the cycling road race and left London without receiving their medals. It was not until many years later that Van Roosbroeck found there was a team gold medal, and petitioned the IOC to award them the medals. He and Wouters received their gold medals in 2010, although Wouters was too ill to attend the ceremony. De Lathouwer had died by then and never received a gold medal for the event.

Wouters was 1948 Belgian amateur road champion and in 1948 won the Ronde van Midden-Nederland. He turned professional in 1951 and had a short career, which ended when his arm was shattered in an accident. Wouters rode professionally for the Alcyon-Dunlop team. His best year as a pro was 1952 when he placed third in the Dwars Door Vlanderen, winning the first stage. That year he was also 11th at Flèche-Wallonne and 10th at Gent-Wevelgem.