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Netherlands at the Olympics

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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!

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  1. DenwildzeeJanuary 23, 2012 at 9:56 AM

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

    ReplyDelete

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