Sport in the Netherlands
[2] A number of native Dutch sports are also practiced, such as fierljeppen (polsstokverspringen), beugelen, kaatsen, klootschieten, kolven and korfball.
He also established the predecessor of the Royal Dutch Football Association five years later, and introduced field hockey in 1896, as well as bandy.
The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) is the largest sports federation in the country with 1,076,759 players (in 2005).
Other successes came in the 1970s, when the national team played in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cup finals, losing to the tournament's host on both occasions.
Despite their wealth of individual talent, the Dutch national men team have only been able to claim one trophy in their entire history.
This came at the UEFA Euro 1988 in which they defeated the Soviet Union to claim the coveted Henri Delaunay Trophy.
In 2017 the Dutch national woman team equalized this result when they beat Denmark, claiming their European title on home ground.
There is a domestic professional baseball league whose best team, Neptunus of Rotterdam, regularly contends for the European club championship, including five consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004.
Former New York Yankees outfielder Andruw Jones, now of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in Japan's Pacific League, is arguably the most successful and popular baseball player to emerge from Curaçao, and in 2006 was a member of the Netherlands national team that participated in the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
John Houseman became the first Dutch-born player in the Major Leagues when he made his debut for the Chicago Colts in 1894.
[6] Bert Blyleven was an All-Star, a two-time World Series champion and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.
With a mix of experienced veterans and talented youngsters they progressed through the preliminary rounds to the semi-final, where the team lost to the Dominican Republic.
The team again reached the semifinals at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, but again fell one game shy of the championship, losing this time to Puerto Rico.
Founded on 6 September 1947, the Dutch Volleyball Federation is with 128,693 players (in 2005) the ninth largest sports association.
The biggest success of the women's national team was winning the European Championship in 1995 and the World Grand Prix in 2007 The Netherlands featured national teams in beach volleyball that competed at the women's and men's section at the 2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.
[12] Bandy was introduced to the Netherlands in the 1890s and enjoyed some following for a couple of decades before ice hockey took over as the most popular winter team sport in the 1920s.
[2] The first official known speed skating competition ever for women was held in Leeuwarden from 1 to 2 February 1805 and was won by Trijntje Pieters Westra.
Champions Kees Verkerk and Ard Schenk were immensely popular, causing a real speed skating hype in the country.
Thialf Stadium in Heerenveen was the second indoor 400m speed skating oval in the world, the first to host an international championship and remains a world-class facility today.
Two Dutch road racing cyclists have won the Tour de France: Jan Janssen and Joop Zoetemelk.
[18] Eight Dutchmen have been World Champion on the road (Theo Middelkamp (1947), Jan Janssen (1964), Harm Ottenbros (1969), Hennie Kuiper (1975), Gerrie Knetemann (1978), Jan Raas (1979), Joop Zoetemelk (1985) and Mathieu van der Poel (2023)), but only one Dutchman has won the time trial World Championship Tom Dumoulin (2017).
Other notable athletes include Nelli Cooman, Elly van Hulst, Rens Blom, Henk Evers, Tinus Osendarp, Chris Berger, Tollien Schuurman, Ellen van Langen, Ria Stalman, Gerard Nijboer, Rutger Smith, Maria Gommers, Bertha Brouwer, Lien Gisolf, Dafne Schippers, Sifan Hassan and Femke Bol.
[2] Numerous Dutch horseback riders have become world and Olympic champions in their field, including Charles Pahud de Mortanges, Anky van Grunsven, Jos Lansink, Piet Raymakers, Jeroen Dubbeldam and Gerco Schröder.
Joost Luiten has won four tournaments in the European Tour, also he has represented Europe at the 2013 Seve Trophy and 2014 EurAsia Cup.
Meanwhile, Christel Boeljon has four wins in the Ladies European Tour and represented Europe at the 2011 Solheim Cup.
Recent champions include triple Olympic gold medalists Pieter van den Hoogenband and Ranomi Kromowidjojo, four-time Olympic champion Inge de Bruijn, and the current world record holder of the 50 metres freestyle, Marleen Veldhuis.
Ever since its inception in 1993, Dutch kickboxers have dominated the K-1 scene, causing "Wimbledon effects", with two record holding title champions Ernesto Hoost and Semmy Schilt, other world champions and contenders include Peter Aerts, Remy Bonjasky, Andy Souwer, Albert Kraus, Rob Kaman, Ramon Dekkers, Alistair Overeem, Badr Hari, Rico Verhoeven and many more world champions.
Other notable judoka include Angelique Seriese, Wim Ruska, Dennis van der Geest and Mark Huizinga.
[22] Although these events are non-competitive, the KWBN promote walking as a sport, in order to "contribute to a healthier, fitter and more vital Netherlands”.
