Siegfried Esajas

Wim Esajas (1960)

Siegfried Willem (Wim) Esajas (born April 16, 1935 , † April 30, 2005 in Paramaribo ) was a Surinamese athlete. In 1960 he became the first athlete in his country's history to take part in the Olympic Games .

Esajas was an 800-meter runner. In 1960 he was Dutch champion over this route . The Surinaam Olympic Comité (SOC), which had only been accepted into the Olympic family a year earlier, was the only athlete to be sent to the Summer Olympic Games in Rome to represent the country there for the first time.

However, Esajas did not appear at the start on the morning of the competition day. It was later revealed that he overslept that morning. The incident became a story for the media, and at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal , Suriname was presented as the country that had missed its Olympic premiere during the invasion of the nations during the opening ceremony.

Esajas bitterly retired from competitive sports after the Rome Games. He made his diploma as a flower grower at the horticultural school in Deventer and in this profession established himself in his home country.

On the occasion of his 70th birthday in April 2005, which Esajas had to spend in hospital, he received a visit from representatives of the Surinaam Olympic Comité . They informed him that a letter from then Secretary General Fred Glans was found in the archives of the SOC , in which he wrote that he had incorrectly informed Esajas in Rome that his advance notice had been postponed until the afternoon. Esajas was thus rehabilitated. The Surinamese Minister of Education, Walter Sandriman, presented him with an award for his life's work, while SOC Chairman Gerhard van Dijk presented him with an Olympic plaque.

Esajas could not look forward to his rehabilitation much longer. He died in the hospital two weeks later. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Web links

• Obituary (Dutch)