Approximately 5 million of the 17 million people in the Netherlands are registered to one of the 35,000 sports clubs in the country. About two thirds of the population older than 15 years participates in sports weekly.
The Netherlands competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. Dutch athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since its official debut in 1908. Netherlands, however, boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, because of the Soviet invasion of Hungary. The Netherlands National Olympic Committee sent a total of 210 athletes to the Games, 134 men and 76 women, to compete in 21 sports. Baseball, field hockey, and men's volleyball were the only team-based sports in which the Netherlands had its representation at these Games. There was only a single competitor in women's fencing.
Volleyball has been part of the Summer Olympics program for both men and women consistently since 1964.
The Netherlands competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. 201 competitors, 117 men and 84 women, took part in 105 events in 20 sports.
The Netherlands competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.
Marcel Reinier Wouda is a Dutch former swimmer, who became the first Dutch world champion in men's swimming when he won the world title in the 200 m individual medley at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, Australia. He was the coach of Olympic champions Maarten van der Weijden and Hinkelien Schreuder at the Nationaal Zweminstituut Eindhoven.
Sport in Belgium plays a prominent role in the society. As of 2010, Belgium counted around 17,000 sport clubs with approximately 1.35 million members, or about 13% of the Belgian population. Popular sports in Belgium are, among others: football, cycling, tennis, table tennis, athletics, swimming, basketball, badminton, judo, hockey, rowing, motocross, auto racing, volleyball, and running. Belgium has organized the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp as well as the 1972 UEFA European Championship and the 2000 UEFA European Championship along with the Netherlands. The Belgium national football team's best result was a 3rd place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and a second place of the 1980 UEFA European Championship. Belgian football clubs have won 3 times the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and twice the UEFA Cup, plus 3 times the UEFA Supercup.
Marko Klok is a volleyball player from the Netherlands who represented his native country in two Summer Olympics, starting in 1992 in Barcelona. There he won the silver medal as a part of the Dutch Men's National Team, and later took ninth at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He played a total of 378 international matches for the Dutch volleyball team.
Peter Blangé is a retired volleyball player from the Netherlands who represented his native country in four consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988 in Seoul. Four years later, he helped the Dutch national team win the silver medal in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Blangé then won the gold medal with the national team in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta by defeating Italy in the final. His final Olympic appearance as an athlete was in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He was a setter.
Hendrik Jan ("Henk-Jan") Held is a volleyball player from the Netherlands who represented his native country in two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992 in Barcelona.
Jan Marcus Posthuma is a retired volleyball player from the Netherlands, who represented his native country in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988 in Seoul.
Johan Martin van der Horst is a retired volleyball player from the Netherlands who represented his native country at two Summer Olympics. He was a member of the Dutch national team that won the silver medal in Barcelona (1992).
Ageaus Yme "Gejus" van der Meulen was a Dutch football goalkeeper. One of the most popular Dutch sportsmen of the 1920s–1930s, he fell into disgrace in the late 1940s due to his collaboration with Nazi Germany.
Steven Cornelisz. van Herwijck, was a Netherlandish sculptor and gem engraver famous for his portrait medallions and medals. He spent two periods of his career in England, where he died. It has recently been suggested that he is the "famous paynter Steven" mentioned in an inventory of 1590, who has traditionally been identified as Steven van der Meulen.
Southwest Friesland is a municipality in the northern Netherlands, located in the province of Friesland. It had a population of 89,999 in January 2021. Sneek is the municipal seat. With a total area of 841.56 km2, Súdwest-Fryslân is the largest municipality by area in the Netherlands.
Van der Meulen or Vandermeulen is a Dutch toponymic or occupational surname, meaning "from the (wind/water) mill". The even more common surname Vermeulen is a contraction of this name. Less common variants are "Van der Molen", "Vandermolen", "Ter Meulen", "Termeulen", "Van Meulen" and just "Meulen".
Sophie van Gestel is a Dutch beach volleyball player. As of 2012, she plays with Madelein Meppelink. The pair participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics tournament and lost in the round of 16 to Brazilians Juliana Felisberta and Larissa França who eventually won the bronze medal.
The Netherlands competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's official debut in 1900, Dutch athletes had competed at every edition of the Summer Olympic Games in the modern era, with the exception of the sparsely attended 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis and 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, which the Netherlands boycotted because of the Soviet invasion of Hungary.
Helena van der Meulen is a Dutch screenwriter, film critic and TV writer. She has won the Golden Calf Award for Best Screenplay for Joy (2010).
The following teams and players took part in the men's volleyball tournament at the 1992 Summer Olympics, in Barcelona.
