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 ...

first sent athletes to the Olympic Games in 1900, and has participated in almost all Games since then with the exception of

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. The Netherlands boycotted the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

as a protest against the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

invasion in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

just a few weeks before the beginning of the Games (One Dutch rider competed in the 1956 equestrian events, held in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

a few months before the rest of the Games). The first individual gold medal at the Summer Games was earned by

Maurice Peeters Mouritius "Maurice" Prosper Peeters (5 May 1882 – 5 December 1957) was a track cyclist from the Netherlands, who represented his country at the two consecutive Summer Olympics (1920 and 1924). He was born in Antwerp, Belgium, but was rai ...

cycling at the 1920 Summer Olympics The cycling competitions at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp consisted of two road racing events and four track racing Track racing is a form of motorcycle racing where teams or individuals race opponents around an unpaved oval track. T ...

, in the men's 1000 metres sprint event. The first gold medal at the Winter Games was earned by

Sjoukje Dijkstra Sjoukje Rosalinde Dijkstra (, born 28 January 1942) is a Dutch former competitive figure skater. She is the 1964 Olympic champion in ladies' singles, the 1960 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World champion (1962–1964), five-time Europe ...

in ladies'

figure skating at the 1964 Winter Olympics Figure skating at the 1964 Winter Olympics took place at the Olympiahalle in Innsbruck, Austria. There were three events contested: men's singles, ladies' singles, and pair skating. Medal table Results Men Referee: * Henry M. Beatty Ass ...

. The Netherlands hosted the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. The Netherlands had expressed interest in hosting the

2028 Summer Olympics The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...

in either

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, as a centennial celebration of the 1928 Games. Eventually, no bid came from either city and the Olympics were awarded to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Prior to the 1992 Olympics, the country name was "Holland" with the country code of "HOL". From 1992 onward, they have utilized the "Netherlands" and "NED", as an abbreviation of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

name ''Nederland''. Dutch athletes have won 322 medals at the

Summer Olympic Games 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 ...

, with

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

and

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

as the top medal-producing sports. The nation has won another 130 medals at the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

, of which 121 have come from

speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marath ...

. Following the dissolution of the

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

in 2010 (which was a constituent country of the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

), the

Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee, ( nl, Nederlands Antilliaans Olympisch Comité; pap, Comité Olímpico di Antia Hulandes) generally abbreviated NAOC was a member of the IOC from 1950 to 2011. It constituted the National Olympic Commit ...

(NAOC) lost its Olympic license in July 2011. After the 2012 Olympic Games in London, athletes from the Netherlands Antilles can choose to participate for the Netherlands or

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

, which has a semi-independent status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At the 2012 Games, athletes from the Netherlands Antilles participated in a unified Olympic team under the IOC flag. However, some athletes had already expressed their wish to represent either the Netherlands or Aruba in London.

Hosted Games

The Netherlands has hosted the Games on one occasion.

Overview of Olympic participation

Timeline of participation

The Netherlands Antilles participated at the Olympic Games from 1952 until 2008 as a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The National Olympic Committee for the Netherlands Antilles was created in 1931 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee from 1950 until 2011 upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. Aruba left the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 to become a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Between 1952 until 1984, Aruban athletes competed as part of the Netherlands Antilles. Since the Olympic Games in 1988, athletes from Aruba have competed separately under their own Olympic banner and has participated in each Summer Olympic Games since then. After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba became part of the Netherlands as special municipalities of the Netherlands. Curaçao and Sint Maarten became separate constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At the 2012 Olympics, participants from the five islands competed as independent athletes under the Olympic flag. However, athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles who qualified for the 2012 Olympics were allowed to participate independently under the Olympic flag, in addition to the possibility of competing for the Netherlands (as for example Churandy Martina did) or Aruba (because they have Dutch nationality). Ultimately, three athletes from the Netherlands Antilles participated as Independent Olympic Athletes.

Netherlands at the Summer Olympics

''*Purple border color indicates tournament was held in the Netherlands.''

Netherlands at the Winter Olympics

Medals by summer sport

Medals by winter sport

List of medalists

Summer Olympics

Winter Olympics

Most successful Dutch competitors

Individual athletes

Team performances

Medals by sport

Sailing

Notes

Feasibility Studies For Boston 2020, Netherlands 2028 Summer Games
* Not counting gold medal in Men's coxed pair events at the 1900 Games, this medal was awarded to a Mixed team (ZZX).

Hermanus Brockmann Hermanus Gerardus "Herman" Brockmann (14 June 1871 in Amsterdam – 18 January 1936 in The Hague) was a Dutch coxswain who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Dutch boats ''Minerva Amsterdam Minerva (; ett ...

in coxed pairs rowing competition was the coxswain for the semifinals, but not for the finals. The name of the French boy the Dutch team employed as a coxswain for the final is unknown. The medal therefore was not awarded to the Netherlands, but to a Mixed team (ZZX).

External links

* * * {{National sports teams of the Netherlands