Max Verstappen has picked up the nickname “The Flying Dutchman” from the German gossip magazine Bild.
Sportgeschiedenis.nl reported that the tabloid’s German editorial staff lacked a creative day when assigning the moniker to the Formula 1 world champion.
Records show the nickname is nearly 150 years old and has been applied to dozens of athletes across various sports.
Cyclist Albert Eliza Derkinderen was the first athlete known by the title around 1880. His death notice on February 6, 1904, stated that he was known in England as the real Flying Dutchman.
In the decades that followed, the nickname passed to numerous footballers, athletes, cyclists, and a ski jumper. Racehorses also carried the designation, with one competing in Bussum race meetings in 1894.
Finland faces a similar linguistic dilemma with dozens of athletes labeled the “Flying Finn.”
A review of sports archives reveals 48 different sports figures who have received the Flying Dutchman title at least once. The list spans multiple generations and disciplines.
Footballers on the roster include Dave van den Bergh, Steven Bergwijn, Justin Bijlow, Sieb Dijkstra, Arie Haan, Jan Jongbloed, Gerrit Keizer, Luciano Narsingh, Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder, and Maarten Stekelenburg. Louis van Gaal and Gene Gerards also earned the designation.
Cycling features prominently in the tally with Jetse Bol, Cor Blekemolen, Jaap Eden, Wim van Est, Huub Harings, Mathieu Hermans, Jan Janssen, Piet van Kempen, Pim Kiderlen, Piet Moeskops, Fred Rompelberg, Petrus Scheltema Beduin, Rini Wagtmans, and Joop Zoetemelk.
Other sports add speed skaters Jaap Eden, Hein Vergeer, and Leo Visser, alongside racing drivers Arie Luyendijk and Max Verstappen. Track cycling and boxing share Arie van Vliet, while boxing also includes Arnold Vanderlijde.
The roster rounds out with athletics star Fanny Blankers-Koen, hockey player Dick Esser, ice hockey player David Groenteman, ultrarunner Jan Knippenberg, ski jumper Gerrit Jan Konijnenberg, chess player D. Noteboom, tennis player Tom Okker, freestyle skier Michiel de Ruiter, equestrian riders Adrie de Vries and Jan Wagenaar, baseball player Honus Wagner, windsurfer Danny Willems, and gymnast Epke Zonderland.
Dennis Bergkamp remains excluded from the tally. His well-documented fear of flying earned him the opposite label of “The non-flying Dutchman.”
Non-athletes have also answered to the moniker over the years. Sportgeschiedenis.nl noted that drug criminal Aart van W., filmmaker Joris Ivens, and Cardinal Willebrands were all called The Flying Dutchman in the past.
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