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 ...

competed at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This was announced in an official statement on the NOC*NSF website.Statement NOC*NSF Beijing 2008
sport.nl In the statement they named the Olympic Games and the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

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 The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

; they ended up ranking 12th at the Games. Further in the statement they announced that they were aware of the political discussions about human rights and other issues in the People's Republic of China and that they encouraged these discussions, but that they would only participate in sports related discussions. They say individual sportspeople, coaches and managers might have their own opinions about the issues but these would always be conveyed as personal opinions deriving from their own social views. They believe sports activities do have the opportunity to positively influence the situation in the People's Republic of China when it comes to implementing the sports rules correctly as well as in situations improving the levels of respect, solidarity and fair play in sports. There were 243 athletes representing the Netherlands. 15 in athletics, 24 in baseball, 2 in canoeing, 27 in cycling, 8 in equestrian, 2 in fencing, 32 in field hockey, 18 in football, 2 in gymnastics, 10 in judo, 30 in rowing, 12 in sailing, 15 in softball, 21 in swimming, 3 in table tennis, 1 in taekwondo, 2 in triathlon, 6 in volleyball and 13 in water polo. 61 different athletes won a medal, which is 25.10% of all athletes. With a gold and a silver medal

Anky van Grunsven Theodora Elisabeth Gerarda "Anky" van Grunsven (born 2 January 1968) is a Dutch dressage champion who is the only rider to record three successive Olympic wins in the same event. Along with her ...

was the only multiple medalist. The athletes that qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics are listed below.

Medalists

Ambassadors

The NOC*NSF announced a total of eleven athletes as their official ambassadors in the period before, during and after the Olympics in 2008 until the end of that year.Ambassadeurs
sport.nl The ambassadors that were chosen were all athletes who had a good chance of qualifying for the Olympics or who had already achieved qualification individually or with their team. They were a mixture of men, women, individual athletes, team athletes, Olympians and Paralympians. Chefs de Mission were

Charles van Commenée #REDIRECT Charles van Commenee #REDIRECT Charles van Commenee {{R from other capitalisation Redirects from other capitalisations ... {{R from other capitalisation Redirects from other capitalisations ...

(Olympics) and

Thea Limbach Thecla Maria Catharina "Thea" Limbach (born 27 February 1959) is a retired speed skater from the Netherlands. She competed at the 1984 Winter Olympics in the 500, 1000, 1500 and 3000 m and finished in 27th, 21st, 9th and 13th place, respectively. ...

(Paralympics). The eleven ambassadors were: *

, Equestrian, 2 times gold and 4 times silver at previous Olympics, 2 times World and 4 times European champion. *

Edith Bosch Edith Bosch (born 31 May 1980) is a Dutch judoka. Her Olympic debut was at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney where she finished seventh. She won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the middleweight division. She was also European champion ...

, Judoka,

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

silver medallist, World champion and double European champion. *

Kees Luyckx Kees Luijckx (; born 11 February 1986) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He earned 7 caps with the Netherlands U21 youth team. Club career Born in Beverwijk, North Holland. Luijckx began his career in his ho ...

, Footballer. *

Kenny van Weeghel Kenny van Weeghel (born 16 September 1980 in Zwolle) is a Paralympic athlete from the Netherlands competing in the 100, 200 and 400 m T54 class wheelchair racing. He participated in the Paralympic games six times already and he has won 6 Paral ...

, Wheeler,

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

gold, silver and bronze medallist, 4 times World and 3 times European champion. *

Lobke Berkhout Lobke Berkhout (born 11 November 1980 in Amsterdam) is a sailor from the Netherlands who represented her country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Qingdao. With helmsman Marcelien de Koning Berkhout took the silver medal as crew in the Women's ...

, Sailor, triple 470-class World champion together with De Koning. *

Marcelien de Koning Marcelien Bos-de Koning (born 10 May 1978) is a Dutch three-time world champion and Olympic silver medalist sports sailor. She represented her country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Qingdao. With crew member Lobke Berkhout Bos-de Koning took th ...

, Sailor, triple 470-class World champion together with Berkhout. *

Marije Smits Marije Smits (born 24 October 1986) is a Dutch amputee and Paralympian named "2011 Paralympic Athlete of the Year" by the Dutch Athletics Union. She competed at the Netherlands at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and she did not win a medal. Refe ...

, Paralympic runner and long jumper, 2002 World champion in long jumping. *

Marleen Veldhuis Magdalena Johanna Maria "Marleen" Veldhuis (born 29 June 1979) is a retired swimmer from the Netherlands. She was world record holder in four events (one individual event and three relay events). Veldhuis won eight world championships gold medals ...

, Swimmer,

bronze medallist, 2 times World and 11 times European champion. *

Minke Booij Minke Gertine Booij (born 24 January 1977 in Zaanstad) is a Dutch field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. T ...

, Field hockey player, silver and bronze at previous Olympics, World champion and triple European champion. *

Rutger Smith Rutger Smith (born 9 July 1981 in Groningen) is a retired Dutch track and field athlete who competed in the shot put and discus throw. He is the first athlete to win medals at the World Championships in both events. He represented the Netherlands ...

, Discus thrower and shot putter, silver (shot put) and bronze (discus) medallist at World championships. * Theo Bos, Track cyclist,

silver medallist, 5 times World and 3 times European champion.

Athletics

Dutch athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard).

Simon Vroemen Simon Frans Vroemen (born 11 May 1969 in Delft, South Holland) is a Dutch runner, specialising in the steeplechase. Biography Vroemen has a degree in molecular sciences from the Wageningen University. He wrote his dissertation on the stress p ...

, who qualified for the steeplechase event, was tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid

dianabol Metandienone, also known as methandienone or methandrostenolone and sold under the brand name Dianabol (D-Bol) among others, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication which is still quite often used because of its affordability and ef ...

in July 2008. ;Men ;Track & road events ;Field events ;Combined events –

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

;Women ;Track & road events ;Combined events –

Heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

* The athlete who finished in second place,

Lyudmila Blonska Lyudmyla Leonidivna Blonska, née Shevchuk ( uk, Людмила Леонідівна Блонська (Шевчук)), sometimes known as Lyudmila Blonskaya, (born November 9, 1977) is a Ukrainian former heptathlete, pentathlete, and long jumper. ...

of the

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, tested positive for a banned substance. Both the A and the B tests were positive, therefore Blonska was stripped of her silver medal, and Keizer moved up a position.

Baseball

The qualification criteria for baseball were the same as the international standards. For European countries the first ranked team at the 2007 European Championship would qualify directly, while the second and third ranked teams would qualify for an extra qualification round. The Dutch team became first in the European Championship, securing their spot in Beijing. ; Roster * Sharnol Adriana * David Bergman *

Leon Boyd Leon Boyd (born August 30, 1983) is a Canadian-born Dutch baseball player currently playing for Corendon Kinheim in the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He is most often recognized for his accomplishments for the Dutch national team at the 2009 World Baseba ...

* Yurendell de Caster *

Rob Cordemans Rob "Robbie" Cordemans (born October 31, 1974, in Schiedam) is a Dutch baseball player. He bats and throws righthanded. Cordemans is best known for representing the Dutch national team at the Olympics and other international competitions. He h ...

Dave Draijer Dorotheus Wilhelmus "Dave" Draijer (born 30 September 1973 in Heemstede) is a Dutch baseball player. Draijer represented the Netherlands at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens where he and his team became sixth. Originally he was not se ...

* Michael Duursma *

Bryan Engelhardt Bryan Engelhardt (born 10 January 1982 in Curaçao) is a Dutch baseball player who currently plays for Quick Amersfoort and the Netherlands national baseball team, Dutch national team. Engelhardt was selected by coach Robert Eenhoorn in the team ...

Percy Isenia Percy Isenia (born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch former baseball player who played for SV ADO and the Dutch national team. Isenia batted .304/.385/.478 in the 1999 World Port Tournament to help the Netherlands to the title. He was 3 for 9 with a ...

Sidney de Jong Sidney de Jong (born 14 April 1979) is a Dutch former baseball player. De Jong represented the Netherlands at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens where he and his team finished sixth. He also represented the Dutch at the 2009 World Baseball Clas ...

* Michiel van Kampen *

Eugene Kingsale Eugene Humphrey Kingsale (born August 20, 1976) is an Aruban former Major League Baseball player with the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, and Detroit Tigers from until . At six-foot-three, and his weight ranging from 170 t ...

Dirk van 't Klooster Dirk Gijsbertus van 't Klooster (born 23 April 1976 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch baseball player. Van 't Klooster represented the Netherlands national baseball team, Netherlands at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney where he and his team became fifth ...

Roel Koolen Roel Koolen (born April 20, 1982 in Mierlo) was a Dutch baseball player who used to play for Kinheim and the Dutch national team. Koolen made his Hoofdklasse debut at the Twins Sporting Club in 1998. He played for the Dutch junior team ...

Reily Legito Raylinos Joaquin 'Reily' Legito (born July 26, 1978 in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles) is a retired Dutch baseball player. Legito, a right-handed infielder, represented the Netherlands at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney where he ...

Diego Markwell Diegomar Raymundo "Diego" Markwell (born August 8, 1980 in Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles) is a Dutch professional baseball pitcher for Curaçao Neptunus of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. Markwell represented the Netherlands at the 2004 ...

Shairon Martis Shairon Benjamin Martis (born March 30, 1987) is a Dutch-Curaçaoan professional baseball pitcher for L&D Amsterdam of the Honkbal Hoofdklasse. He has previously pitched for the Washington Nationals and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. ...

Martijn Meeuwis Martijn Meeuwis (born July 14, 1982 in Moergestel) is a Dutch baseball player who currently plays for Neptunus and the Dutch national team. Meeuwis debuted with the Twins Sport Club in 1999 as a teenager but did not return to the Hoofdklasse a ...

Danny Rombley Danny Rombley (born 26 November 1979, in Amersfoort) is a Dutch baseball player for the Amsterdam Pirates. He also played six years in Minor League Baseball. Career Rombley was selected by coach Robert Eenhoorn in the team that represents the ...

Jeroen Sluijter Jeroen Sluijter (born April 2, 1975 in Zwijndrecht, Netherlands, Zwijndrecht) is a Dutch baseball player who currently plays for Neptunus and the Netherlands national baseball team, Dutch national team. Sluijter debuted in the Hoofdklasse ...

Tjerk Smeets Tjerk Smeets (born 3 June 1980) is a Dutch baseball player who currently plays for Kinheim and the Dutch national team. He is the son of Dutch radio and television personality, writer, and columnist Mart Smeets. Smeets played his college baseb ...

* Alexander Smit * Juan Carlos Sulbaran * Pim Walsma

Loek van Mil Ludovicus Jacobus Maria "Loek" van Mil (; 15 September 1984 – 28 July 2019) was a Dutch professional baseball pitcher. At the height of , he was and still is the tallest player in the history of professional baseball. He played for Curaçao N ...

was originally selected in the squad, but withdrew from the tournament before the games had been started. He was replaced by Draijer. ;Results

Canoeing

Slalom

Cycling

Road

;Men ;Women

Track

;Sprint ;Pursuit ;Keirin ;Omnium

Mountain biking

BMX

Equestrian

Dressage

Eventing

Show jumping

Fencing

;Men ;Women

Field hockey

The qualification criteria for field hockey were the same as the international standards. For European countries the first three ranked teams at the 2007 European Championships would qualify directly, while the fourth through eighth ranked teams would qualify for an extra qualification round, of which only the winners of three qualification tournaments would qualify. The Dutch men's team was first in the European Championship, while the women's team was second in their Championship, each team securing their spot in Beijing.

Men's tournament

;Roster ;Group play ;Semifinal ;Bronze medal match

Women's tournament

;Roster ;Group play ;Semifinal ;Gold medal match

Football

The qualification criteria for football were the same as the international standards. For male European countries the first four ranked teams at the 2007 European Under-21 Championship would qualify. The Dutch men's team was first in the European under-21 Championship, claiming their second consecutive title and securing their spot in Beijing.

Men's tournament

;Roster ;Group play ;Quarterfinals

Gymnastics

Artistic

;Men ;Women

Judo

To qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics Dutch judokas were required to meet both the international (set by the IOC and IJF) and the Dutch criteria (set by the NOC*NSF). On 26 January 2008, Elisabeth Willeboordse was the first judoka to secure her spot in Beijing. She proved to remain among the world's top ranked judokas by winning her fifth consecutive World Cup in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

. Two days later Edith Bosch qualified by reaching the final of the World Cup in Sofia. On 9 February World Champion Ruben Houkes secured his spot by finishing in the top 7 in the Super World Cup in Paris. The next day Mark Huizinga qualified for his fourth consecutive Olympics as he finished in fifth position at the same event in Paris. ;Men ;Women

Rowing

;Men * Lubbers replaced the injured Siegelaar in the repechage. ;Women Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

Sailing

To qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics Dutch sailors met both the international (set by the IOC and ISAF) and the Dutch criteria (set by the NOC*NSF). The first two boats to qualify for the Olympics were the women's 470 of Lobke Berkhout and Marcelien de Koning and the finn of Pieter-Jan Postma. Berkhout and De Koning were 2007 World champions in their class, and secured their spot by finishing sixth in the pre-Olympic tournament in

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

on 22 August 2007. Postma, who won silver at the 2007 World Championships in the finn class, also qualified during the pre-Olympic tournament by finishing in second place. Brothers Sven and Kalle Coster qualified in the 470 class after finishing 12th in the 2008 World Championships. ;Men ;Women ;Open M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated – did not advance into the medal race; CAN = Race cancelled

Softball

The qualification criteria for softball were the same as the international standards. Reaching the semifinals in the 2006 World Championships was an automatic qualification to compete in the Games in Beijing. The Dutch team did not reach the semifinals, and had to enter the African/European qualification tournament to secure their spot.

Women's tournament

* Women's softball team : – Noemi Boekel : – Marloes Fellinger : – Sandra Gouverneur : – Petra van Heijst : –

Judith van Kampen Judith van Kampen (born 21 December 1978 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch softball player, who represents the Netherlands women's national softball team, Dutch national team in international competitions.

: – Kim Kluijskens : –

Saskia Kosterink Saskia Kosterink (born August 13, 1984 in Zwolle) is a Dutch softball player, who represents the Dutch national team in international competitions.

: –

Jolanda Kroesen Jolanda Kroesen (born May 2, 1979 in Purmerend) is a Dutch softball player, who represents the Dutch national team in international competitions.

: – Daisy de Peinder : –

Marjan Smit Marjan Smit (born September 29, 1975, in Breda) is a Dutch softball player, who represents the Dutch national team in international competitions.

: – Rebecca Soumeru : –

Nathalie Timmermans Nathalie Timmermans (born July 21, 1989, in Oldenzaal, Overijssel) is a Dutch softball player, who represents the Dutch national team in international competitions.

: –

Ellen Venker Ellen Venker (born 26 November 1983 in Boskoop) is a Dutch softball player, who represents the Netherlands women's national softball team, Dutch national team in international competitions.

: –

Britt Vonk Britt Vonk (born 11 April 1991) is a Dutch softball player, who has represented the Dutch national team in international competitions.

: – Kristi de Vries

Swimming

Dutch swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)). ;Men ;Women

Synchronized swimming

Table tennis

To qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics Dutch table tennis players needed to meet both the international (set by the IOC and ITTF) and the Dutch criteria (set by the NOC*NSF). Li Jiao qualified herself in January 2008 when she was selected by the ITTF as one of the top 20 players in the World. ;Singles ;Team

Taekwondo

To qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics Dutch taekwondo practitioners needed to meet both the international (set by the IOC and WTF) and the Dutch criteria (set by the NOC*NSF). Dennis Bekkers finished third in the qualification tournament in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, thus qualifying to compete at the Olympics in Beijing.

Triathlon

Volleyball

Beach volleyball

Water polo

The Netherlands participated in the women's tournament, where the team won the gold medal.

Women's tournament

The qualification criteria for water polo were the same as the international standards. The Dutch women's team became first at the European qualification tournament in Kirishi by beating the host nation Russia in the final.QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT OLYMPIC GAMES 2008 WATERPOLO WOMEN
, sportkinef.com ;Roster ;Group play All times are

China Standard Time The time in China follows a single standard time offset of UTC+08:00 (eight hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time), even though the country spans almost five geographical time zones. The official national standard time is called ''Beijing Tim ...

( UTC+8). ;Quarterfinal ;Semifinal ;Final

References

{{Nations at the 2008 Summer Olympics Nations at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

Medalists

Ambassadors

Athletics

Baseball

Canoeing

Slalom

Cycling

Road

Track

Mountain biking

BMX

Equestrian

Dressage

Eventing

Show jumping

Fencing

Field hockey

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

Football

Men's tournament

Gymnastics

Artistic

Judo

Rowing

Sailing

Softball

Women's tournament

Swimming

Synchronized swimming

Table tennis

Taekwondo

Triathlon

Volleyball

Beach volleyball

Water polo

Women's tournament

See also

References