Ben Bril

Ben Bril
Statistics
Real name Barend Bril
Weight(s) Flyweight
Lightweight
Nationality Netherlands Netherlands
Born July 16, 1912 (1912-07-16)
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died November 9, 2003 (2003-11-10) (aged 91)
Stance Orthadox
Medal record
Men's Boxing
Representing the  Netherlands
Olympic Games Flyweight Division

1928 Summer Olympics Amsterdam

Barend ("Ben") Bril (16 July 1912 – 11 September 2003) was a Dutch boxer who competed in the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics in Flyweight boxing.

Early life and amateur career

Born in Amsterdam to Jewish parents on July 16, 1912, he competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics at age 15 in his home town.[1]

Four years later he was barred from the 1932 Summer Olympics because the Dutch Olympic Committee was led by a member of the Dutch Nazi party. He later boycotted the 1936 Games in Berlin.

Bril won the gold medal at the 1935 Maccabiah Games, and the Dutch title in his division eight times.

Internment at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp

During the German occupation of the Netherlands, he was deported to Germany and interned at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Four of his brothers and a sister died in the concentration camps. All but one of the siblings were married with children. Ben Bril and his younger brother Herrie both survived the war. Herrie Bril died in Rotterdam on 6 August 1966.[1]

Life outside boxing

From 1963-74, Bril worked as a boxing referee for many important matches throughout Europe.[1]

Ben Bril in 1968

Ben Bril and his wife Celia had one child Ab Ben, who lives in Zandvoort with his wife Wilma. Ab Ben and Wilma have one son, Benno, who also lives in Zandvoort.

Ben Bril died on November 9, 2003, at the age of 91 in Amsterdam.

In October 2006 Ben Bril's biography by Ed van Opzeeland was published. It is called Ben Bril - Davidsster als Ereteken (free translation: Ben Bril - Decorated with a Star of David). The Dutch swimmer Erica Terpstra handed out the first copy of the book to Ben's son Albert Bril.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ben Bril". BoxRec. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  • Media related to Ben Bril at Wikimedia Commons


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