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.
Pieter Cornelis Martijn van den Hoogenband is a Dutch retired swimmer. He is a triple Olympic champion and former world record holder.
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.
Russell Simon Garcia is an English field hockey coach and a former England & GB field hockey player. He won a gold medal with Great Britain at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul at the age of 18 years 3 months, making him Britain's youngest ever Olympic champion.
Floris Jan Bovelander is a former field hockey player from the Netherlands, who was a member of the Dutch national squad that won the gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Six years earlier, at the Hockey World Cup in Lahore, where he scored nine times, he won the world title with the Dutch side at the expense of host nation Pakistan.
Carina Marguerite Benninga is a former Dutch field hockey player, who played 158 international matches for The Netherlands hockey team, in which she scored 25 goals. She was part of the gold medal winning team at the 1984 Summer Olympics and also won a bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Other highlights of her career include gold medals at the EuroHockey Nations Championship and Champions Trophy in 1987, as well as a gold at the 1983 Women's Hockey World Cup and the 1990 Women's Hockey World Cup. Next to her sports career, Carina Benninga studied law; in 1987 she got her Masters’degree.
Augustinus ("Guus") Wilhelmus Johannes Marines Vogels is a Dutch field hockey goalkeeper, who twice won Olympic gold medals with the national squad: at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and four years later, at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
Robert Adriaan van der Horst is a Dutch former field hockey player who played as a defender and currently the assistant coach of the first men's team of Oranje-Rood.
Matías Enrique Paredes is an Argentine field hockey player who plays as a midfielder or forward for Ducilo and the Argentine national team.
Maria Thomas van 't Hek is a Dutch former field hockey striker who played 221 international matches for the Dutch national field hockey team, in which he scored a total number of 106 goals. He made his debut on 24 September 1976 against East Germany, and competed for the Netherlands at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
Helena ("Helen") Johanna Lejeune-Van der Ben is a former Dutch field hockey defender, who won the bronze medal with the National Women's Team at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
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.
Maarten van der Weijden is a Dutch long distance and marathon swimmer born in Alkmaar. In 2019 Van der Weijden swam the Elfstedentocht for charity. He raised more than €6.1 million.
The Netherlands competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This was announced in an official statement on the NOC*NSF website. In the statement they named the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games as a highlight in sports to which a lot of sportspeople, coaches and the Dutch sports fans would look forward. The Netherlands aimed for a top 10 nations ranking in the Olympics as well as a top 25 ranking in the Paralympics; they ended up ranking 12th at the Games.
The Netherlands competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. Dutch athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since their official debut in 1908, with the exception of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, which the Netherlands boycotted because of the Soviet invasion of Hungary. The Netherlands National Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since 1988. A total of 175 athletes, 95 men and 80 women, competed in 18 sports.
Netherlands competed at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. The team included 95 athletes, 53 men and 42 women. Competitors from Netherlands won 29 medals, including 5 gold, 12 silver and 12 bronze to finish 27th in the medal table.
Alexander Baart is a Dutch field hockey player of Belgian descent who plays as a defender or midfielder for Belgian club Antwerp.
Mink Alphons Louis van der Weerden is a Dutch field hockey player who plays as a defender for German Bundesliga club Rot-Weiss Köln.
The men's field hockey tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics was the 20th edition of the field hockey event for men at the Summer Olympic Games. It was held over a thirteen-day period beginning on 15 August, and culminating with the medal finals on 27 August. All games were played at the hockey centre within the Hellinikon Olympic Complex in Athens, Greece.
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.
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