50 greatest Summer Olympians in history
By John Buhler
41. Hubert van Innis, Archery.
It’s been 96 years since Hubert van Innis competed in his final Olympic Games in Antwerp, but the Belgian-born archer remains the best to ever grace the Olympic stage, with nine medals over just two appearances (Paris in 1900, and Antwerp in 1920).
In Paris, van Innis won gold in the Cordon Dore 33m and the Chapelet 33m, as well as a silver in the Cordon Dore 50 m. After World War I halted all Olympic activity in the 1910s, van Innis would return to close out his career in strong fashion in 1920 as a member of the host nation’s team.
Van Innis would earn six medals in total (four gold and two silver), winning the moving bird at 28 m, the moving bird at 33 m, the 50 m team, and the 33 m team, while finishing second in the 1920 Antwerp Games in the moving bird 50 m and the 28 m team.
With nine total medals to his name, van Innis stands as the most decorated archer in Olympic history. He passed away in 1961 at the age of 95.
Next: 40. Carl Osburn.