Hubert Van Innis

Lore & Background

As a young boy, the story goes, Van Innis was forced to work as a milk delivery boy in the villages around Brussels. At the end of his deliveries he would send his dog and cart home while he went off to practice his archery skills. When he was 13 years old, he won the first prize in a main competition in Antwerp. He also won the prize in 1893, 1894, 1895 and 1896. In 1881, he won the royan prize of Roozendaal.

Van Innis was 34 years old when he competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. He entered four events, winning gold medals in the Au Cordon Doré 33 metres and the Au Chapelet 33 metres events, and a silver medal in the Au Cordon Doré 50 metres behind Frenchman Henri Hérouin. His worst result was a fourth place in the Au Chapelet 50 metres. Twenty years later, aged 54, he competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics on home soil in Antwerp, where he added two individual gold medals in the Individual moving bird, 28 metres and Individual moving bird, 33 metres, and a silver medal in the Individual moving bird, 50 metres. He also won team golds in the Team moving bird, 50 metres and Team moving bird, 33 metres, and a team silver in the Team moving bird, 28 metres.

Reader's Guide

Van Innis's Olympic career is notable for its longevity and success across two Games twenty years apart. At age 34 in 1900, he won two gold medals and one silver; at age 54 in 1920, he added four more golds and two silvers, including team events. His final Olympic medal tally of six gold and three silver medals places him among the most successful archers in Olympic history. Remarkably, 13 years after his final Olympic victories, when aged 67, he won at the 1933 World Championships. His legacy has continued through his family: his great-grandson Philippe Prieels and great-great-granddaughter Sarah Prieels have both competed in the World Archery Championships.

Did You Know?

• Van Innis won six gold medals and three silver medals across two Olympics.
• He was 54 years old when he competed in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.
• He won a World Championship at age 67, 13 years after his last Olympic victory.
• His great-grandson and great-great-granddaughter have both competed in World Archery Championships.