Diederik Rudolf Simon (born 10 April 1970 in

Bloemendaal Bloemendaal () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Bloemendaal is, together with Wassenaar, the wealthiest place in the Netherlands. In October 2015, after persistent problems with the local governa ...

, North Holland) is a

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, who competed for his native country in five consecutive Summer Olympics. He won the gold medal with the ''Holland Acht'' (Holland Eight) at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, United States. He earned silver medals in the Men's Quadruple Sculls (

Sydney 2000 The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

) and in the Men's Eights ( Athens 2004). After becoming a coach, he rejoined the national team in 2007, placing fourth at the Beijing Olympics (2008) and fifth at the London Olympics (2012), both in the Dutch Men's Eights. He trained for his sixth Olympics in Rio de Janeiro 2016, but was not selected for the Dutch team. Simon auctioned off his Olympic gold medal to raise money for Nereus Rowing Club in Amsterdam. He left his second silver medal in an Athens taxi but it was returned to him after he reported the loss to the police.

References

External links

*
Dutch Olympic Committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Diederik 1970 births Living people People from Bloemendaal Dutch male rowers Rowers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic rowers of the Netherlands Olympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Olympic silver medalists for the Netherlands Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from North Holland