Alvin Loftes (born Alvin Hjalmar Lofstedt), won a bronze medal in cycling in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics in the four-man team time trial. His team, which included Albert Krushel, Walter Martin, and Carl Schutte, had a time of 11:13.51.3, which earned a bronze medal. He was born in Providence, RI, on January 1, 1890. The 320-kilometer race, the first and the longest team time trial in Olympic history, was won by Sweden due, in part, to its home course advantage. Loftes also finished eleventh in the individual road race.
The Swedish Olympic Committee actually attempted to eliminate cycling altogether. No track races were planned, although at the 11th IOC Session in Luxembourg (June 13, 1910), the British protested this decision, but no change was made. The track races were eliminated because the only velodrome in Stockholm was being destroyed to make room for the new Olympic Stadium, and there were no plans to build a new one, even with the advent of the Olympic Games.
At the 12th Session (Budapest, May 27, 1911), the Swedes also noted that they wanted to eliminate the road race. Britain’s Robert de Courcy Laffan insisted that a competition of at least 100 km. should be held. Sweden’s Viktor Gustaf Balck noted that, “our roads are so bad that it is impossible to organize such a race.” But eventually, the Swedish Olympic Committee capitulated and elected to hold it on the course for the Malaren Rundt, Sweden’s most popular road race. The cycling road race was noteworthy because England, Scotland, and Ireland were allowed to enter teams of riders as individual nations rather than as one combined team representing Great Britain. It is uncertain why this decision was made. However, on the day before the event, July 6, France protested this ruling. The ruling was discussed all day, and that evening, the Committee for Cycling announced that the three nations would be allowed to compete separately. The Cycling Committee noted that they “regretted that this concession had been made, but declared at the same time that, as the teams from the countries in question had come to Sweden to take part in the event, the Swedish Cycling Committee did not wish to prevent them from doing so.
In addition to the Olympic medals, several cities along the route of the road course donated special prizes. The cycling awards ceremony was separate from the events in the stadium and took place on Monday, July 9, at Restaurant Hasslebacken, where the President of the Cycling Committee distributed the awards.
In addition to his Bronze medal, Loftes finished 11th in the individual road race, which included more than 300 participants.
After returning from the Olympic games, Loftes moved from Providence to Point Judith, where he became a commercial fisherman. Loftes retired in 1955 and died on July 7, 1971. He was inducted into The Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1968.
For additional reading:
Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. “Al Loftes”. Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC., February 4, 2013.
“Alvin Loftes”. Olympedia. May 5, 2021.