Today in history: SA road racing cyclist passes away in Pretoria

Road racing cyclist, Rudolph Ludewyk Okey Lewis was South Africa’s second world class athlete after Laurens S Meintjes.

Rudolph represented South Africa at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden and he also competed professionally in road racing in Germany.

Despite competing against more experienced road riders, Rudolph outperformed the other competitors to claim gold in the 320km race.

He also served in World War I, for which he was awarded the Iron Cross. He passed away on 29 October 1933 in Pretoria.

Information sourced from: South African History Online.