Skip to main content

Netherlands at the Olympics

By

With the 2012 Olympic games a little under 200 days away (It officially kicks off in London July 27 2012, I'm super excited!) I thought it would be neat to learn about how Holland has faired at previous Olympic games. The picture above is of the Dutch team walking into opening ceremonies at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Nice ties!

The Netherlands have consistently sent competitors to each games since the year 1900 (Except for a boycott in 1956). They were the host in 1928 and are interested in hosting again in 2028. A bicentennial of sorts. Dutch athletes have won 246 medals at the summer games mostly in swimming and cycling; and 86 medals at the winter games of which 82 came from speed skating.

Looking through their wikipedia medal count; The Netherlands top sports include; speed skating (which is a crazy passion of the country, more on that in another post I think), swimming, cycling, and equestrian rounding out the top 4. These also being their most widely recognized sports of the olympics. As the Olympics get closer, I'll occasionally post more interesting Dutch Olympic facts.

One problem with the Olympics though. It seems each year it's a race to see how many medals America can win. It gives me this feeling that it's time for the big dog to go down. This is the same reason why I always want the Yankees and Lakers to lose. Nothing against them specifically but I want someone else to win. It's always fun to root for the underdog. So, why not, Go Orange!
Labels:

Comments

  1. DenwildzeeJanuary 23, 2012 at 9:56 AM

    Please do not buy a suit like theirs, it sends shivers down my spine

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

de Vries, Hans de Vries. Almost.

By
In 1967 THE James Bond (Sean Connery) decided to step away from the world of James Bond films. EOS studios thus had to find a replacement. It came down to 5 men. 2 Brits, an American, a Australian, and a Dutchman. John Richardson, Anthony Rogers, Robert Campbell, George Lazenby, and Hans de Vries. None of those names ring a bell? George Lazenby won the part for the 6th Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. A movie that has been lauded both as the worst and one of the best Bond films in the franchise. If you haven't seen it, you should. It was the Bond film that 'Breaks the Fourth Wall', Bond gets married, wears a kilt, and goes skiing. But the reason for this post is instead of this; (Yes, THAT is James Bond) We could of had this. Improvement? Probably not. He looks a wee bit angry. Plus, no one watches OHMSS anyway. So, did de Vries have a movie career after Bond? Ha, no. The only notable movie rolls I can find for him were pre bond. And that was ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ray - Forest Boy

By
Remember around a month ago when the news story hit about Ray the Forest Boy who randomly showed up one day in Berlin, Germany? Well I forgot to post this but it has been found out who Ray the 'Forest Boy' actually is. 20 yr old Robin van Helsum of Hengelo Netherlands (100 miles east of Amsterdam). What allowed the police to finally determine who 'Ray' was? His stepmother. She recognized his picture on the news. He went missing 9 months ago. Now that he has been exposed as a hoax and not the Forest Boy who had been living in the woods for 5 years; Robin may face stiff fines and penalties for the extra police time and work put into his case which could cost as much as $40,000. 'Ray' originally walked into Berlin claiming he had been walking for 5 days after spending 5 years living out of a tent in the 'wild' where he had buried his father. One Berlin police officer said that there were things right from the start that did not match to his story. Lik...
2 comments
Read more

"My Knitted Boyfriend"

By
Yes. You read that correctly. And no, I am not buying one. I used to have my dog sleep on my bed when I was little but that was when I was 7. Noortje de Keijzer  (her website) a Dutch designer and illustrator has designed a life-sized, yes life size, knitted pillow in the shape of a man. Or a boyfriend. Whichever you prefer.   Keijzer's " My Knitted Boyfriend " (click this link. It shows the different accessories and the book that accompies your 'man') project consists of two different oversized cushions, "Artur" (white guy with brown hair) and "Steve (darker guy with black hair)." The pillows come with a number of accessories, including knitted moustaches, glasses, watches, bow-ties, and even tattoos. There's also an illustrated book to show you what you can do with your knitted companion.   Keijzer had her mother and grandmother hand-knit the body pillow. (Slave labor?, I'm still wondering why she couldn'...
2 comments
Read more