Netherlands at the 2014 Winter Olympics
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The Netherlands competed at the
2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
in
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...
, Russia from 7 to 23 February 2014. The Dutch team was the largest Dutch delegation at a Winter Olympics, with 41 competitors that participated in bobsleigh, short track speed skating,
snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
, and speed skating. With a total of 24 medals, it turned out to be the most successful Winter Games ever for the Dutch team. The Dutch team won 23 medals in speed skating and one medal in short track speed skating. Olympic speed skating records were set on the men's 5,000 metres by
Sven Kramer Sven Kramer (; born 23 April 1986) is a retired Dutch long track speed skater who has won an all time record nine World Allround Championships as well as a record ten European Allround Championships. He is the Olympic champion of the 5000 meter ...
, the men's 10,000 metres by Jorrit Bergsma, the men's team pursuit by
Jan Blokhuijsen Jan Blokhuijsen (; born 1 April 1989) is an Olympic award-winning Dutch long-track speed skater who until 2013 skated for the commercial TVM team. Career He currently holds the world record in the team pursuit discipline, along with teammates S ...
, Sven Kramer and
Koen Verweij Koen Verweij (; born 26 August 1990) is a former Dutch speed skater and inline speed skater. At the end of the skating season 2008–09 he made a transfer from the Jong Oranje team of the national skating union ( KNSB) to the commercial team of T ...
, the women's 1,500 metres by
Jorien ter Mors Jorien ter Mors (; born 21 December 1989) is a retired Dutch speed skater on both short track and long track. She was the Olympic champion in the 1500 metres and team pursuit (long track) at the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 1000 metres at the ...
and the women's team pursuit by Marrit Leenstra, Jorien ter Mors and
Ireen Wüst Irene Karlijn (Ireen) Wüst (; born 1 April 1986) is a Dutch former long track speed skater. Wüst became the most successful speed skating olympian ever by achieving at least one gold medal in each of five consecutive Winter Olympic appearances ...
. By sweeping the podium in speed skating at the men's 500 m, 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres, and the women's 1,500 m, the Netherlands became the first country in Winter Olympics history to achieve four podium sweeps at one edition of the Games. King
Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Beatri ...
, Queen Máxima, Prime Minister Mark Rutte, and Minister of Health, Welfare, and Sport
Edith Schippers Edith Ingeborg Schippers (born 25 August 1964) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businesswoman serving as President of the DSM Company since 1 February 2019. Schippers, a political consultan ...
attended the Olympics. The Holland Heineken House was the meeting place for supporters and athletes during the Olympics.


Medalists

The Dutch team won 24 medals of which 23 were in (long track) speed skating and one in short track speed skating. The speed skaters swept the podiums in the men's 500 metres, men's 5,000 metres, men's 10,000 metres, and the women's 1,500 metres. The Netherlands is the first country to achieve four podium sweeps at one Winter Olympics edition (beating the previous record of two which was achieved by Norway in
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...
,
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
and
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
, Soviet Union in
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
, East Germany in
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
and
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
and Germany in
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
). In the women's 1,500 metres speed skating, Dutch athletes placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th; the first such result in Olympic speed skating history by athletes from a single nation. , width="78%" align="left" valign="top" , , width="22%" align="left" valign="top" ,


Team

The Dutch team consisted of 41 competitors that participated in bobsleigh (6), short track speed skating (10),
snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...
(6), and speed skating (20). It was the largest Dutch delegation ever at the Winter Olympics. It was also the first time that the Netherlands had an athlete competing in two different sports:
Jorien ter Mors Jorien ter Mors (; born 21 December 1989) is a retired Dutch speed skater on both short track and long track. She was the Olympic champion in the 1500 metres and team pursuit (long track) at the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 1000 metres at the ...
competed in both short track speed skating and speed skating. Jorien ter Mors was the Dutch flag bearer at the
opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.
and Bob de Jong was the flag bearer at the
closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.
.
Maurits Hendriks Maurits Gijsbreght Hendriks (born 1 January 1961 in Amsterdam) is a field hockey coach from the Netherlands, who himself played as a goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, net ...
was the ''
chef de mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permanent ...
'' for the Dutch team.
Nederland heeft meeste medailles van alle landen
, '' Algemeen Dagblad'', 2014. Retrieved on 5 March 2014.


Sports


Bobsleigh

The Dutch bobsledders (6 athletes) competed with one team in each bobsleigh event: two-man, four-man, and two-woman. Their best result was a fourth place of the two-woman team. Key: * denotes pilot of each sled, = denotes multiple teams share the same rank. Source:


Short track speed skating

The Dutch short track speed skaters (10 athletes) competed in all eight short track events. The Netherlands qualified the maximum of five skaters of each gender for the Olympics during World Cup 3 & 4 in November 2013. Four men qualified for the 500 metres, but only three were allowed to start. The selection committee of the Dutch Speed Skating Federation (KNSB) decided that
Daan Breeuwsma Daan Breeuwsma (born 29 December 1987) is a Dutch male Short track speed skating, short-track speed-skater. His partner is short track speed skater Rianne de Vries, who was also part of the national team at the 2014 Winter Olympics. References ...
would not compete in the 500 metres.
Sjinkie Knegt Sjinkie Knegt (; born 5 July 1989) is a Dutch short track speed skater. Career He competed for the Netherlands at the 2010 Winter Olympics in the men's 500 m, 1000 m, and 1500m. At the January 2014 European Short Track Speed Skating Championshi ...
won the bronze medal in the men's 1000 metres, which is the first ever Olympic medal in short track speed skating for the Netherlands. ;Men * Christiaan Bokkerink was selected as part of the relay squad but did not compete during the event. Key: AA = Advanced to medal round due to being impeded by another skater; DNA = Did not advance; FA = Qualify to medal round; FB = Qualify to consolation round; PEN = Penalty; Q = Qualified to next round. Source: ;Women *
Rianne de Vries Rianne de Vries (born 14 December 1990) is a Dutch short track speed skater. Sporting career Olympic Games She was selected for the 3000 metre relay team at the 2014 Winter Olympics but didn't compete. She was also selected for the 3000 metr ...
was selected as part of the relay squad but did not compete during the event. Key: A = Advanced to next round due to being impeded by another skater; DNA = Did not advance; FA = Qualify to medal round; FB = Qualify to consolation round; PEN = Penalty; Q = Qualified to next round. Source:


Snowboarding

The Dutch snowboarders (6 athletes) competed in five of ten snowboarding events: men's halfpipe (2), women's slopestyle (1), women's parallel giant slalom (2), women's parallel slalom (2), and women's snowboard cross (1). None of the competitors advanced to the finals of their disciplines. ;Freestyle Key: QS = Qualify to semifinal. Source: ;Parallel Key: L = Lost, Q = Qualify to next round. Source: ;Snowboard cross Source:


Speed skating

The Netherlands qualified the maximum of ten speed skaters of each gender. Individual riders were selected from the results of the Dutch Olympic Qualification Tournament, held between 27 and 30 December 2013 in Thialf, Heerenveen. The Dutch speed skaters competed in all twelve long track events. The Netherlands dominated in speed skating, winning eight out of the 12 gold medals and a total of 23 out of 36 medals (of which any team, of course, could win a maximum of 32), with medals in all events. There were four Dutch podium sweeps at the men's 5000 m, men's 500 m, women's 1500 m and men's 10000 m. The women's 1,500 metres resulted in the Dutch women placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th; the first such result by a single nation since East Germany dominated the men's singles luge competition at the
1972 Winter Olympics The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...
.
Margot Boer Margot Madelaine Boer (born 7 August 1985) is a Dutch former speed skater. She specialised in the 500, 1000 and 1500 m. Sports career After spending a few years at local teams in the South Holland area, Boer was seen as one of the Netherlands m ...
, by winning the bronze medal in the women's 500 metres, won the first ever Dutch Olympic medal in that event, while
Michel Mulder Michel Mulder (born 27 February 1986) is a Dutch speed skater. He is the 2014 Olympic Champion at the 500 m distance and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist at the 1,000 m distance. He finished second in the men's 500 metres event at the 20 ...
was the first Dutch man to win gold at the
500 metres The 500 metres is a rarely run middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. All-time top 25 *i = indoor performance *OT = oversized track (exceeding 200m in circumference) *A = affected by altitude *h = hand timing Men *C ...
. ;Men Key: = Olympic record. Source: ;Women Key: = Olympic record. Source: ;Team pursuit * Jorrit Bergsma was selected as part of the men's team pursuit squad but did not compete during the event. Key: = Olympic record, W = Won. Source:


Supporters


Dignitaries

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and King Willem-Alexander attended the Olympics, despite the recent troubled Dutch relationship with Russia. The pair was accompanied by the King's wife Queen Máxima and Dutch Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport
Edith Schippers Edith Ingeborg Schippers (born 25 August 1964) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businesswoman serving as President of the DSM Company since 1 February 2019. Schippers, a political consultan ...
, with the King's status as an Honorary member of the IOC adding to the significance of his visit. The visit was controversial due to the Russian anti-gay laws. On the second day of the Games, King Willem-Alexander awarded the medals to the three Dutch medalists of the men's 5000 metres speed skating during the victory ceremony at medal plaza.


National house

During the Games, the Netherlands had a national house; the 12th edition of the Holland Heineken House. Organized by NOC*NSF and Heineken, the Dutch national house was a meeting place for Dutch supporters, athletes and other followers. The Dutch national house was located 5 km south of the Olympic Park at the Azimut Hotel Resort. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, as well as Russian president Vladimir Putin visited the Dutch national house during the Games.


References


External links


Netherlands Team
a
Sochi 2014 Olympics
{{Nations at the 2014 Winter Olympics Nations at the 2014 Winter Olympics
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
Winter Olympics