Personal information | |
---|---|
Full name | Simon Paul van Velthooven |
Born | Palmerston North, New Zealand | 8 December 1988
Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
Team information | |
Current team | Team New Zealand |
Discipline | Track sprint |
Role | Rider |
Major wins | |
World, Commonwealth, Olympic medalist | |
Simon Paul van Velthooven (born 8 December 1988)[1] is a New Zealand track racing cyclist and America's Cup sailor.
Van Velthooven was born in Palmerston North in 1988. He has two younger sisters; his youngest sister, Emily, works as a journalist for Television New Zealand (TVNZ).[2]
Simon won New Zealand's first sprint cycling medal in the men's keirin at the 2012 Summer Olympics jointly with Teun Mulder after the race officials were unable to separate the two in a photo finish for third place. He has also won multiple World Championship and Commonwealth Games medals and was the 2012 World Cup champion in the 1 km time trial and keirin events[3][4] In 2014, he won a silver in the 1000 m time trial at the Commonwealth Games.[5]
Van Velthooven joined Team New Zealand in 2015 and was one of the original "cyclors" that helped develop the revolutionary boat and was a huge asset to the team that won the 2017 America's Cup for Team New Zealand.[6][7][8]