Pieter "Piet" Wijdekop (September 13, 1912, Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 – September 1, 1982, Heemskerk

Heemskerk

Heemskerk is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.-Local government:The municipal council of Heemskerk consists of 25 seats, which are divided as follows:* PvdA - 5 seats* CDA - 5 seats* VVD - 5 seats...

) was a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 sprint canoer

Canoe racing

This article discusses canoe sprint and canoe marathon, competitive forms of canoeing and kayaking on more or less flat water. Both sports are governed by the International Canoe Federation ....

 who competed in the late 1930s. He won a bronze medal in the folding K-2 10000 m event with his younger brother Cees

Cees Wijdekop

Cornelis Wijdekop was a Dutch aprint canoer who competed in the late 1930s. He won a bronze medal in the folding K-2 10000 m event with his older brother Piet at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin....

 at the 1936 Summer Olympics

1936 Summer Olympics

The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...

 in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

.

The Wijdekop brothers were born in Amsterdam, where they were members of the canoe club De Plassers. In their honor, an international marathon canoe race up and down between Amsterdam and Purmerend

Purmerend

Purmerend is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.The city is surrounded by polders, such as the Purmer, Beemster and the Wormer. The city became the trade center of the region but the population grew relatively slow. Only after 1960 did the population...

, organized yearly until 2008, was named the Gebroeders Wijdekop Race.