Frederick Keeping

Frederick Keeping was a British racing cyclist, born on 11 August 1867 and died on 21 February 1950, who competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. He rode the 333 metres and the 12 hours races. In the 12 hours race only two riders finished, and Keeping covered 314.664 kilometres, one lap behind the winner Adolf Schmal of Austria; he tied for fifth place in the 333 metres with 27.0 seconds. Working as a servant at the British Embassy in Greece, he and fellow rider Edward Battell faced protests that they were not amateurs because they worked for a living, but the protests were overruled. After returning home to Hampshire he opened a cycle shop in Milford on Sea and later garages in New Milton and Lymington, and served on Lymington District Council and Hampshire County Council. His son Michael Keeping played football for Southampton and Fulham and became manager of Real Madrid.