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.Statement NOC*NSF Beijing 2008, sport.nl 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.
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.De sporters, NOC*NSF Netherlands Olympics Team list 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 was the only multiple medalist. The athletes that qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics are listed below.Gekwalificeerden, sport.nl
Medalists Medal Name Sport Event Ranomi KromowidjojoFemke HeemskerkMarleen VeldhuisHinkelien Schreuder*Manon van Rooijen* Swimming Women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay Kirsten van der Kolk Rowing Women's lightweight double sculls Cycling Women's points race Equestrian Individual dressage Swimming Men's 10 km open water Netherlands women's national water polo team Water polo Women's tournament Netherlands women's national field hockey team Field hockeyWomen's tournament Judo Women's 57 kg Hans Peter MinderhoudImke Schellekens-Bartels Equestrian Team dressage Mandy MulderMerel Witteveen Sailing Yngling class Annemiek de HaanNienke KingmaRoline Repelaer van DrielAnnemarieke van RumptSarah SiegelaarMarlies SmuldersHelen TangerEster Workel Rowing Women's eight Marcelien de Koning Sailing Women's 470 class Judo Men's 60 kg Judo Women's 63 kg Judo Women's 70 kg Judo Men's 100 kg
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 (Olympics) and Thea Limbach (Paralympics).
The eleven ambassadors were: Anky van Grunsven, Equestrian, 2 times gold and 4 times silver at previous Olympics, 2 times World and 4 times European champion. Edith Bosch, Judoka, 2004 Summer Olympics silver medallist, World champion and double European champion. Kees Luyckx, Footballer. Kenny van Weeghel, Wheeler, 2004 Summer Paralympics gold, silver and bronze medallist, 4 times World and 3 times European champion. Lobke Berkhout, Sailor, triple 470-class World champion together with De Koning. Marcelien de Koning, Sailor, triple 470-class World champion together with Berkhout. Marije Smits, Paralympic runner and long jumper, 2002 World champion in long jumping. Marleen Veldhuis, Swimmer, 2004 Summer Olympics bronze medallist, 2 times World and 11 times European champion. Minke Booij, Field hockey player, silver and bronze at previous Olympics, World champion and triple European champion. Rutger Smith, Discus thrower and shot putter, silver (shot put) and bronze (discus) medallist at World championships. Theo Bos, Track cyclist, 2004 Summer Olympics 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, who qualified for the steeplechase event, was tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid dianabol in July 2008.Steeplechaser Simon Vroemen claims dianobol would hurt performance, steroidreport.com
Men Track & road events AthleteEventHeatQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRankRobert Lathouwers800 m1:46.943colspan=2 Did not advanceKamiel MaaseMarathoncolspan=6 2:20:3039Gregory Sedoc110 m hurdles13.544 Q13.433 Q13.606Did not advanceMarcel van der Westen13.502 Q13.484 q13.456Did not advanceCaimin DouglasMaarten HeisenGuus HoogmoedGregory SedocVirgil SpierPatrick van Luijk4 × 100 m relay38.873 Qcolspan=4
Field events AthleteEventQualificationFinalDistancePositionDistancePositionRutger SmithShot put20.1310 Q20.418Discus throw65.653 Q65.397
Combined events – Decathlon AthleteEvent 100 m 400 m 1500 mFinalRankEugène MartineauResult11.197.1913.781.9949.9914.7344.094.7071.444:37.96805513Points819859715794815882748819911693
Women Track & road events AthleteEventFinalResultRankHilda Kibet10000 m31:29.6915Lornah Kiplagat30:40.278
Combined events – Heptathlon AthleteEvent 200 m 800 mFinalRankLaurien HoosResult13.521.6514.9824.575.7448.54Points10477958609277718320Jolanda KeizerResult13.901.8315.1523.976.1542.762:15.216370 PB9*Points9931016871984896720890 * The athlete who finished in second place, Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine, 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.IOC and IBAF – Baseball criteria, sport.nlNOC*NSF – Baseball criteria, sport.nl The Dutch team became first in the European Championship, securing their spot in Beijing., baseballeurope.com
Roster
Sharnol Adriana David Bergman Leon Boyd Yurendell de Caster Rob Cordemans Dave Draijer Michael Duursma Bryan Engelhardt Percy Isenia Sidney de Jong Michiel van Kampen Eugene Kingsale Dirk van 't Klooster Roel Koolen Reily Legito Diego Markwell Shairon Martis Martijn Meeuwis Danny Rombley Jeroen Sluijter Tjerk Smeets Alexander Smit Juan Carlos Sulbaran Pim Walsma
Loek van Mil was originally selected in the squad, but withdrew from the tournament before the games had been started. He was replaced by Draijer.Draaijer vervangt Van Mil, nos.nl, ret: 13 Aug 2008
Results
TeamGWLRSRAWIN%GBTiebreaker77041221.000--7615223.8571-7524022.7142-7433014.5713-7252933.28651–07252920.28650–1716950.14361–07161460.14360–1
Canoeing
Slalom AthleteEventPreliminarySemifinalFinalRun 1RankRun 2RankTotalRankTimeRankTimeRankTotalRankRobert BoutenMen's K-186.261188.9016175.1614 Q88.405 Q139.599227.999Ariane HerdeWomen's K-1102.3012117.9820222.2813 Q117.6010 Q114.396231.996
Cycling
Road Men AthleteEventTimeRankStef ClementRoad raceDid not finishTime trial1:04:599Laurens ten DamRoad race6:34:2665Robert GesinkRoad race6:24:0710Time trial1:05:0210Karsten KroonRoad raceDid not finishNiki TerpstraDid not finish
Women AthleteEventTimeRankChantal BeltmanRoad race3:37:0247Mirjam MelchersRoad race3:33:1736Time trial37:51.5918Marianne VosRoad race3:32:456Time trial36:58.6714
Track Sprint AthleteEventQualificationRound 1Repechage 1Round 2QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalTimeSpeed (km/h)RankOppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)OppositionTimeSpeed (km/h)RankTheo BosMen's sprint10.31869.7809 QW 10.95965.699W 10.77766.808L, LDid not advance5th place finalL7Teun Mulder10.37369.41013 QLW 10.88966.121W 10.88866.127L, LDid not advance5th place finalL6Theo BosTeun MulderTim VeldtMen's team sprint44.21361.0684 QL 44.21261.069colspan=4 Did not advance5Yvonne HijgenaarWomen's sprint11.53362.42910LLDid not advance9th place finalL11Willy Kanis11.16764.4754W 12.15559.234W 11.944, W 11.767L, LL, L4
Pursuit AthleteEventQualificationSemifinalsFinalsTimeRankOpponentResultsRankOpponentResultsRankJens MourisMen's individual pursuit4:27.44513Did not advanceJenning Huizenga4:37:09718Did not advanceLevi HeimansPim LigthartJens MourisRobert SlippensWim StroetingaMen's team pursuit4:04.8066 Q—Did not advance
Keirin AthleteEvent1st roundRepechage2nd roundFinalsRankRankRankRankTheo BosMen's keirin2 Q512Teun Mulder3 R4Did not advance
Omnium AthleteEventPointsLapsRankPeter SchepMen's points race0020Marianne VosWomen's points race301Jens MourisPeter SchepMen's madison6−18
Mountain biking AthleteEventTimeRankBart BrentjensMen's cross-country (2 laps)37Rudi van Houts (2 laps)34Elsbeth van Rooy-VinkWomen's cross-country1:53:3014
BMX AthleteEventSeedingQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalResultRankPointsRankPointsRankResultRankRobert de WildeMen's BMX36.80323187Did not advanceRaymon van der Biezen36.1125103 Q145Did not advanceRob van den Wildenberg36.5221882 Q92 Q39.7725Lieke KlausWomen's BMX38.70911colspan=2 135Did not advance
Equestrian
Dressage AthleteHorseEventGrand PrixGrand Prix SpecialGrand Prix FreestyleOverallScoreRankScoreRankScoreRankScoreRankHans Peter MinderhoudExquis NadineIndividual69.62511 Q70.9207 Q75.150573.0355Imke Schellekens-BartelsSunrise70.8755 QWithdrewAnky van GrunsvenSalinero74.7502 Q74.9602 Q82.400178.680Hans Peter MinderhoudImke Schellekens-BartelsAnky van GrunsvenSee aboveTeam71.7504colspan=4 71.750
Eventing AthleteHorseEventDressageCross-countryJumpingTotalQualifierFinalPenaltiesRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesRankTim LipsOncarlosIndividual52.604122.4075.00280.0075.0021 Q0.0075.001575.0015
Show jumping AthleteHorseEventQualificationFinalTotalRound 1Round 2Round 3Round ARound BPenaltiesRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesRankPenaltiesTotalRankPenaltiesRankAngelique HoornBlauwendraad's O'BrienIndividual4304816 Q81618 Q0=1 Q44=3 JO89Marc HoutzagerOpium VS228137 Q588 Q0=1 Q44=3 JO88Gerco SchröderMonaco539121737 Q42129 Q411 Q1216=151216Vincent VoornAlpapillon-Armanie0=1161635 Q274344Did not advance4344Angelique HoornMarc HoutzagerGerco SchröderVincent VoornSee aboveTeamcolspan=8 1761734=434=4
Fencing
Men AthleteEventRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / Opposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreRankBas VerwijlenIndividual épéeW 15–10W 15–13L 11–15Did not advance
Women AthleteEventRound of 64Round of 32Round of 16QuarterfinalSemifinalFinal / Opposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreOpposition ScoreRankIndra Angad-GaurIndividual foilW 13–4L 6–11Did not advance
Field hockey