Netherlands at the Olympics facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Netherlands at theOlympics |
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| IOC code | NED | ||||||||
| NOC | NOC*NSF | ||||||||
| Website | |||||||||
| Medals Ranked 15th |
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| Summer appearances | |||||||||
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| Winter appearances | |||||||||
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| Other related appearances | |||||||||
| 1906 Intercalated Games | |||||||||
The Netherlands first joined the Olympic Games in 1900. Since then, Dutch athletes have competed in almost every Olympic event. They missed the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis. The Netherlands also chose not to participate in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. This was a protest against the Soviet Union's actions in Hungary. However, one Dutch rider did compete in the equestrian events that year. These horse riding events were held in Stockholm a few months before the main Games.
The first Dutch athlete to win a gold medal at the Summer Olympics was Maurice Peeters. He won in cycling in 1920. This was for the men's 1000 metres sprint. At the Winter Olympics, the first gold medal went to Sjoukje Dijkstra. She won in ladies' figure skating in 1964.
The Netherlands hosted the 1928 Summer Olympics in their city of Amsterdam. They also tried to host the 1992 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam. However, their bid did not get enough votes. Later, the Netherlands showed interest in hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics. They thought about Amsterdam or Rotterdam to celebrate 100 years since the 1928 Games. But in the end, no bid was made, and Los Angeles was chosen instead.
Before 1992, the country was often called "Holland" at the Olympics. Its country code was "HOL". From 1992 onwards, they started using "Netherlands" and the code "NED". This is a shorter way of saying Nederland, which is the country's name in Dutch.
Dutch athletes have won many medals over the years. They have earned 356 medals at the Summer Olympic Games. The sports where they win the most medals are swimming and cycling. At the Winter Olympic Games, the Netherlands has won 147 medals. Most of these, 133, have come from speed skating.
The Netherlands Antilles used to be a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 2010, the Netherlands Antilles split up. Because of this, their Olympic Committee lost its special status in 2011. After the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles could choose. They could compete for the Netherlands or for Aruba. Aruba is also a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but it has its own Olympic team. At the 2012 Games, some athletes from the Netherlands Antilles competed as "Independent Olympic Athletes". This meant they competed under the Olympic flag.
Contents
The Netherlands as an Olympic Host
The Netherlands has hosted the Olympic Games one time.
| Games | Host city | Dates | Nations | Participants | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 Summer Olympics | Amsterdam | 28 July – 12 August | 46 | 2,883 | 109 |
How the Netherlands Participated in the Olympics
Changes in Olympic Participation Over Time
The Netherlands Antilles was a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It took part in the Olympics from 1952 to 2008. The Olympic Committee for the Netherlands Antilles was created in 1931. The International Olympic Committee recognized it from 1950 until 2011. That's when the Netherlands Antilles dissolved.
Aruba separated from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986. It became its own country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. From 1952 to 1984, athletes from Aruba competed as part of the Netherlands Antilles team. Since the 1988 Olympic Games, athletes from Aruba have competed on their own team. They have been in every Summer Olympic Games since then.
After the Netherlands Antilles dissolved in 2010, some islands became special municipalities of the Netherlands. These were Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. Curaçao and Sint Maarten became separate countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At the 2012 Olympics, athletes from these five islands competed as independent athletes. They competed under the Olympic flag. However, athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles who qualified for the 2012 Olympics could also choose to compete for the Netherlands (like Churandy Martina) or Aruba. This was because they had Dutch nationality. In the end, three athletes from the Netherlands Antilles competed as Independent Olympic Athletes.
Dutch Medals at the Summer Olympics
*The purple border shows when the Games were held in the Netherlands.
| Games | Athletes |  Gold
|
 Silver
|
 Bronze |
Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1900 Paris |
29 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 |
 1904 St. Louis |
did not participate | |||||
 1908 London |
113 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17 |
 1912 Stockholm |
33 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
 1920 Antwerp |
113 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 9 |
| 1924 Paris |
177 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 9 |
 1928 Amsterdam |
264 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 19 | 8 |
 1932 Los Angeles |
45 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
 1936 Berlin |
165 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 9 |
| 1948 London |
149 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 11 |
 1952 Helsinki |
104 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 29 |
 1956 Melbourne |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
 1960 Rome |
110 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 28 |
 1964 Tokyo |
125 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 15 |
 1968 Mexico City |
107 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 17 |
 1972 Munich |
119 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 16 |
 1976 Montreal |
109 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 29 |
 1980 Moscow |
90 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 30 |
 1984 Los Angeles |
136 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 13 |
 1988 Seoul |
147 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 22 |
 1992 Barcelona |
220 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 20 |
| 1996 Atlanta |
235 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 15 |
| 2000 Sydney |
243 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 25 | 8 |
 2004 Athens |
210 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 22 | 18 |
 2008 Beijing |
243 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 11 |
| 2012 London |
188 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 12 |
 2016 Rio de Janeiro |
241 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 11 |
 2020 Tokyo |
278 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 36 | 7 |
| 2024 Paris |
273 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 34 | 6 |
| 2028 Los Angeles |
future event | |||||
| Total | 110 | 112 | 134 | 356 | 14 | |
Dutch Medals at the Winter Olympics
| Games | Athletes | Gold
|
Silver
|
Bronze |
Total | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1928 St. Moritz |
7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1932 Lake Placid |
did not participate | |||||
| 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen |
8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1948 St. Moritz |
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
 1952 Oslo |
11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo |
8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
 1960 Squaw Valley |
7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
 1964 Innsbruck |
6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| 1968 Grenoble |
9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 6 |
| 1972 Sapporo |
11 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 4 |
| 1976 Innsbruck |
7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 1980 Lake Placid |
29 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
 1984 Sarajevo |
13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1988 Calgary |
11 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| 1992 Albertville |
19 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 12 |
| 1994 Lillehammer |
21 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| 1998 Nagano |
22 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 6 |
| 2002 Salt Lake City |
27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 9 |
 2006 Turin |
33 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 10 |
| 2010 Vancouver |
34 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
 2014 Sochi |
41 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 5 |
 2018 Pyeongchang |
33 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 5 |
| 2022 Beijing |
41 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 6 |
| 2026 Milan/Cortina |
future event | |||||
| Total | 53 | 49 | 45 | 147 | 9 | |
Dutch Medals by Sport
Summer Sports Medals
Leading in that sport
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cycling | 26 | 25 | 17 | 68 |
| Swimming | 23 | 21 | 21 | 65 |
| Rowing | 11 | 17 | 15 | 43 |
| Equestrian | 10 | 13 | 5 | 28 |
| Sailing | 10 | 9 | 11 | 30 |
| Athletics | 10 | 8 | 12 | 30 |
| Field hockey | 8 | 6 | 6 | 20 |
| Judo | 4 | 2 | 18 | 24 |
| Gymnastics | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Boxing | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| Archery | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Volleyball | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Water polo | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Basketball | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Canoeing | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Shooting | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Tennis | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Badminton | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Tug of war | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Fencing | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Football | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Weightlifting | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Artistic swimming | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Beach volleyball | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (24 entries) | 110 | 112 | 134 | 356 |
Winter Sports Medals
Leading in that sport
| Sport | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speed skating | 48 | 44 | 41 | 133 |
| Short track speed skating | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Figure skating | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Snowboarding | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Skeleton | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (5 entries) | 53 | 49 | 45 | 147 |
Top Dutch Olympic Athletes
Individual Medal Winners
Top Team Performances
| No | Sport | Team | |
|
|
Total |
| 1 | Field hockey | Netherlands women's national field hockey team | 5 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 2 | Field hockey | Netherlands men's national field hockey team | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | Swimming | Women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay | 2 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| 4 | Equestrian | Eventing team competition | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Rowing | Men's quadruple sculls | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 6 | Rowing | Women's lightweight double sculls | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 7 | Cycling | Men's road team time trial | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Cycling | Men's team sprint | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Sailing Medals at the Olympics
| Games | No. Sailors | Events | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896 | Scheduled but event wasn't held | ||||||
| 1900 | 9 | 3/13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 1904 | Not Scheduled | ||||||
| 1908 | 0 | 0/4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1912 | 0 | 0/4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1916 | Games Cancelled | ||||||
| 1920 | 8 | 3/14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 1924 | 4 | 2/3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 1928 | 12 | 3/3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 1932 | 3 | 2/4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 1936 | 8 | 3/4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | =2 |
| 1940 | Games Cancelled | ||||||
| 1944 | Games Cancelled | ||||||
| 1948 | 8 | 4/5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 1952 | 9 | 4/5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1956 | 0 | 0/5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1960 | 6 | 3/5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1964 | 6 | 3/5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1968 | 6 | 3/5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1972 | 5 | 3/6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1976 | 9 | 4/6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1980 | 12 | 6/6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1984 | 8 | 5/7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 1988 | 12 | 7/8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 14 | 8/10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 1996 | 12 | 8/10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 2000 | 9 | 5/11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| 2004 | 14 | 8/11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 12 | 7/11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 2012 | 11 | 7/10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 2016 | 11 | 8/10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2020 | 10 | 7/10 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 | 10 | ||
Images for kids
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A sailboat, representing sailing.
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An oar, representing rowing.
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A swimmer, representing swimming.
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A target, representing shooting.
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A soccer ball, representing football.
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Crossed swords, representing fencing.
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A bow and arrow, representing archery.
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Two people pulling a rope, representing tug of war.
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A horse and rider, representing equestrian sports.
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A runner, representing athletics.
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A tennis racket and ball, representing tennis.
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Boxing gloves, representing boxing.
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A gymnast, representing gymnastics.
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A weightlifter, representing weightlifting.
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A canoe, representing canoeing.
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A field hockey stick and ball, representing field hockey.
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A water polo player, representing water polo.
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A badminton shuttlecock, representing badminton.
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A volleyball, representing volleyball.
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A basketball, representing basketball.
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A beach volleyball, representing beach volleyball.
-
Two swimmers, representing artistic swimming.
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A speed skater, representing speed skating.
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A figure skater, representing figure skating.
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A short track speed skater, representing short track speed skating.
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A snowboarder, representing snowboarding.
-
A skeleton sledder, representing skeleton.
See also
In Spanish: Países Bajos en los Juegos Olímpicos para niños
- List of flag bearers for the Netherlands at the Olympics
- Netherlands at the Paralympics
