Netherlands men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics

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This article lists various water polo records and statistics in relation to the Netherlands men's national water polo team at the Summer Olympics.

The Netherlands men's national water polo team has participated in 17 of 27 official men's water polo tournaments.^[1]

Abbreviations

Apps	Appearances	Rk	Rank	Ref	Reference	Cap No.	Water polo cap number
Pos	Playing position	FP	Field player	GK	Goalkeeper	ISHOF	International Swimming Hall of Fame
L/R	Handedness	L	Left-handed	R	Right-handed	Oly debut	Olympic debut in water polo
(C)	Captain	p.	page	pp.	pages

Team statistics

Comprehensive results by tournament

Notes:

• Results of Olympic qualification tournaments are not included. Numbers refer to the final placing of each team at the respective Games.
• At the 1904 Summer Olympics, a water polo tournament was contested, but only American contestants participated. Currently the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Swimming Federation (FINA) consider water polo event as part of unofficial program in 1904.
• Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

Men's team[1]	00	04	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20	Years
Netherlands		—	4		5	7	5		5	3	5		8	8	7	7	3	6	6		9	10	11						17
Total teams	7		4	6	12	13	14	5	16	18	21	10	16	13	15	16	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12

Number of appearances

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

• Year^* – As host team

Men's team[1]	Apps	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best finish	Confederation
Netherlands	17	7	0	1908	2000	Third place	Europe – LEN

Best finishes

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

• Year^* – As host team

Men's team[1]	Best finish	Apps	Confederation
Netherlands	Third place (1948, 1976)	17	Europe – LEN

Finishes in the top four

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Legend

• Year^* – As host team

Men's team[1]	Total	Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place	First	Last
Netherlands	3			2 (1948, 1976)	1 (1908)	1908	1976

Medal table

Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Men's team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Netherlands (NED)	0	0	2	2

Player statistics

Multiple appearances

The following table is pre-sorted by number of Olympic appearances (in descending order), year of the last Olympic appearance (in ascending order), year of the first Olympic appearance (in ascending order), date of birth (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.

• Number of five-time Olympians: 0
• Number of four-time Olympians: 1
• Last updated: 27 July 2021.

Legend

•     – Hosts

Male athletes who competed in water polo at four or more Olympics

Apps	Player	Birth	Pos	Water polo tournaments					Age of first/last	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
				1	2	3	4	5
4	Ton Buunk	1952	FP	1972	1976	1980	1984		19/31		Flag bearer for the Netherlands (1984)	[2]

Multiple medalists

The following table is pre-sorted by total number of Olympic medals (in descending order), number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), year of receiving the last Olympic medal (in ascending order), year of receiving the first Olympic medal (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.

• Number of four-time Olympic medalists: 0
• Number of three-time Olympic medalists: 0
• Last updated: 1 May 2021.

Top goalscorers

The following table is pre-sorted by number of total goals (in descending order), year of the last Olympic appearance (in ascending order), year of the first Olympic appearance (in ascending order), name of the player (in ascending order), respectively.

• Number of goalscorers (50+ goals): 0
• Number of goalscorers (40–49 goals): 2
• Number of goalscorers (30–39 goals): 1
• Last updated: 1 April 2021.

Male players with 30 or more goals at the Olympics

Rk	Player	Birth	L/R	Total goals	Water polo tournaments (goals)					Age of first/last	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
					1	2	3	4	5
1	Nico van der Voet	1944		43	1964 (10)	1968 (33)				20/24			[3]
2	Harry van der Meer	1973	Right	40	1992 (8)	1996 (16)	2000 (16)			18/26			[4]
3	Ruud van Feggelen	1924		32	1948 (16)	1952 (16)				24/28			[5]

Sources:

• Official Reports (PDF): 1908, 1920–1928, 1936–1952, 1960–1984, 1992–1996;
• Official Results Books (PDF): 2000 (pp. 58, 60–61, 79, 83–84, 89, 91).

Goalkeepers

The following table is pre-sorted by edition of the Olympics (in ascending order), cap number or name of the goalkeeper (in ascending order), respectively.

Last updated: 1 April 2021.

Legend and abbreviation

•     – Hosts
• Eff % – Save efficiency (Saves / Shots)

Year	Cap No.	Goalkeeper	Birth	Age	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
1908		Johan Rühl	1885	23		The only goalkeeper in the squad	[6]
1920		Leen Hoogendijk	1890	30			[7]
		Karel Struijs	1892	27			[8]
1924		Karel Struijs (2)	1892	31		Starting goalkeeper	[8]
		(Unknown)
1928		Abraham van Olst	1897	30		Starting goalkeeper	[9]
		(Unknown)
1936		Herman Veenstra	1911	24			[10]
		Joop van Woerkom	1912	24			[11]
1948		Joop Rohner	1927	21			[12]
		Piet Salomons	1924	24			[13]
1952		Max van Gelder	1924	27		Starting goalkeeper	[14]
		(Unknown)
1960		Henk Hermsen	1937	23			[15]
		Ben Kniest	1927	33			[16]
1964	1	Henk Hermsen (2)	1937	27			[15]
	11	Ben Kniest (2)	1927	37			[16]
1968	1	Feike de Vries	1943	25			[17]
	11	Evert Kroon	1946	22			[18]
1972	1	Evert Kroon (2)	1946	25		Starting goalkeeper	[18]
	11	Wim van de Schilde	1948	23			[19]
1976	1	Evert Kroon (3)	1946	29		Starting goalkeeper Flag bearer for the Netherlands	[18]
	11	Alex Boegschoten	1956	20			[20]
1980	1	Wouly de Bie	1958	22			[21]
	11	Ruud Misdorp	1952	28			[22]
1984	1	Wouly de Bie (2)	1958	26			[21]
	13	Ruud Misdorp (2)	1952	32			[22]
1992	1	Arie van de Bunt	1969	23			[23]
	13	Bert Brinkman	1968	24			[24]
Year	Cap No.	Goalkeeper	Birth	Age	ISHOF member	Note	Ref

Year	Cap No.	Goalkeeper	Birth	Age	Saves	Shots	Eff %	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
1996	1	Arie van de Bunt (2)	1969	27	81	154	52.6%		Starting goalkeeper	[23]
	11	Wim Vermeulen			0	0	—
2000	1	Arie van de Bunt (3)	1969	31	65	140	46.4%		Starting goalkeeper	[23]
	3	Wim Vermeulen (2)			0	0	—

Sources:

• Official Reports (PDF): 1996 (pp. 57–61, 67–68);
• Official Results Books (PDF): 2000 (pp. 58, 60–61, 79, 83–84, 89, 91).

Top sprinters

The following table is pre-sorted by number of total sprints won (in descending order), year of the last Olympic appearance (in ascending order), year of the first Olympic appearance (in ascending order), name of the sprinter (in ascending order), respectively.

• Number of sprinters (30+ sprints won, since 2000): 0
• Number of sprinters (20–29 sprints won, since 2000): 0
• Number of sprinters (10–19 sprints won, since 2000): 0
• Number of sprinters (5–9 sprints won, since 2000): 1
• Last updated: 15 May 2021.

Abbreviation

• Eff % – Efficiency (Sprints won / Sprints contested)

Male players with 5 or more sprints won at the Olympics (statistics since 2000)

Rk	Sprinter	Birth	Total sprints won	Total sprints contested	Eff %	Water polo tournaments (sprints won / contested)					Age of first/last	ISHOF member	Note	Ref
						1	2	3	4	5
1	Bjørn Boom	1975	6	10	60.0%	2000 (6/10)					24/24			[25]

Source:

• Official Results Books (PDF): 2000 (pp. 58, 60–61, 79, 83–84, 89, 91).

Coach statistics

Medals as coach and player

The following table is pre-sorted by total number of Olympic medals (in descending order), number of Olympic gold medals (in descending order), number of Olympic silver medals (in descending order), year of winning the last Olympic medal (in ascending order), year of winning the first Olympic medal (in ascending order), name of the person (in ascending order), respectively. Last updated: 5 May 2021.

Ivo Trumbić won the silver medal in 1964 and Yugoslavia's first Olympic gold medal in water polo in 1968. He moved to the Netherlands in 1973, hired as the head coach of the Netherlands men's national water polo team. At the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, he led the Dutch team to win a bronze medal.^[26][27]

Legend

• Year^* – As host team

Rk	Person	Birth	Height	Player				Head coach			Total medals				Ref
				Age	Men's team	Pos	Medal	Age	Men's team	Medal	G	S	B	T
1	Ivo Trumbić	1935	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)	29–33	Yugoslavia	FP	1964 , 1968	41	Netherlands	1976	1	1	1	3	[26] [27]

Water polo people at the opening and closing ceremonies

Flag bearers

Some sportspeople were chosen to carry the national flag of their country at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games. As of the 2020 Summer Olympics, three male water polo players were given the honour to carry the flag for the Netherlands.

At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Fred van Dorp became the first water polo player to be a flag bearer for the Netherlands at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics.^[28]

After winning bronze in the men's tournament, Evert Kroon, the starting goalkeeper of the Dutch water polo team, carried the national flag of the Netherlands at the closing ceremony of the 1976 Montreal Olympics.^[18]

Four-time Olympian Ton Buunk was the flag bearer for the Netherlands during the opening ceremony at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.^[2]

Legend

•  2008 O  – Opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics
•  2012 C  – Closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics
•     – Hosts
• Flag bearer^‡ – Flag bearer who won the tournament with his team

Water polo people who were flag bearers at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games

#	Year	Country	Flag bearer	Birth	Age	Height	Team	Pos	Water polo tournaments					Period (age of first/last)	Medals				Ref
									1	2	3	4	5		G	S	B	T
1	1968 O	Netherlands	Fred van Dorp	1938	30	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	Netherlands	FP	1960	1964	1968			8 years (21/30)	0	0	0	0	[28]
1	1968 C	Netherlands	Fred van Dorp	1938	30	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)	Netherlands	FP	1960	1964	1968			8 years (21/30)	0	0	0	0	[28]
2	1976 C	Netherlands	Evert Kroon	1946	29	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)	Netherlands	GK	1968	1972	1976			8 years (22/29)	0	0	1	1	[18]
3	1984 O	Netherlands	Ton Buunk	1952	31	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)	Netherlands	FP	1972	1976	1980	1984		12 years (19/31)	0	0	1	1	[2]

See also

• Netherlands women's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
• List of men's Olympic water polo tournament records and statistics
• Lists of Olympic water polo records and statistics
• Netherlands at the Olympics

References

Sources

Official Reports (IOC)

PDF documents in the LA84 Foundation Digital Library:

Official Results Books (IOC)

PDF documents in the LA84 Foundation Digital Library:

• Official Results Book – 2000 Olympic Games – Water Polo (download, archive)
• Official Results Book – 2004 Olympic Games – Water Polo (download, archive)
• Official Results Book – 2008 Olympic Games – Water Polo (download, archive)

PDF documents on the FINA website:

• Official Results Book – 2012 Olympic Games – Diving, Swimming, Synchronised Swimming, Water Polo (archive) (pp. 284–507)

PDF documents in the Olympic World Library:

• Official Results Book – 2016 Olympic Games – Water Polo (archive)

PDF documents on the International Olympic Committee website:

• Official Results Book – 2020 Olympic Games – Water Polo (archive)

Official Reports (FINA)

PDF documents on the FINA website:

• HistoFINA – Water polo medalists and statistics (as of September 2019) (archive) (pp. 4–13)
• 1870–2020 | 150 years of Water Polo – Evolution of its rules (archive)

Official website (IOC)

Water polo on the International Olympic Committee website:

• Water polo
• Men's water polo

Olympedia

Water polo on the Olympedia website:

Sports Reference

Water polo on the Sports Reference website:

Todor66

Water polo on the Todor66 website:

ISHOF

International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) website:

External links

• Netherlands men's national water polo team – Official website
• Olympic water polo – Official website