Netherlands at the Olympics

The Netherlands first sent athletes to the Olympic Games in 1900, and has participated in almost all Games since then, except for the 1904 Games in St. Louis, which were attended by only a handful of countries due to travel difficulties and limited international participation. Netherlands boycotted the main events of the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne, joining several other nations in protest of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Hungary, due the Hungarian Uprising. However, one Dutch rider did take part in the equestrian events , which were held earlier that year in Stockholm, Sweden, due to Australian quarantine laws.

The first individual gold medal at the Summer Games was earned by Maurice Peeters in cycling at the 1920 Summer Olympics, in the men's 1000 metres sprint event. The first gold medal at the Winter Games was earned by Sjoukje Dijkstra in ladies' figure skating at the 1964 Winter Olympics.

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 name Nederland.

Dutch athletes have won 356 medals at the Summer Olympic Games, with swimming and cycling as the top medal-producing sports. The nation has won another 147 medals at the Winter Olympic Games, of which 133 have come from speed skating.

In addition to its sporting achievements, Netherlands have won medals in one of the three discontinued Olympic non-sport competitions. The country won a total of six medals—2 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze—in the art competitions held during 1924, 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics. These events were once part of the official Olympic program in the early 20th century, between 1912 and 1948.