The Netherlands competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This was announced in an official statement on the NOC*NSF website. In the statement they named the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games as a highlight in sports to which a lot of sportspeople, coaches and the Dutch sports fans would look forward. The Netherlands aimed for a top 10 nations ranking in the Olympics as well as a top 25 ranking in the Paralympics; they ended up ranking 12th at the Games.
Further in the statement they announced that they were aware of the political discussions about human rights and other issues in the People's Republic of China and that they encouraged these discussions, but that they would only participate in sports related discussions. They say individual sportspeople, coaches and managers might have their own opinions about the issues but these would always be conveyed as personal opinions deriving from their own social views. They believe sports activities do have the opportunity to positively influence the situation in the People's Republic of China when it comes to implementing the sports rules correctly as well as in situations improving the levels of respect, solidarity and fair play in sports.
There were 243 athletes representing the Netherlands. 15 in athletics, 24 in baseball, 2 in canoeing, 27 in cycling, 8 in equestrian, 2 in fencing, 32 in field hockey, 18 in football, 2 in gymnastics, 10 in judo, 30 in rowing, 12 in sailing, 15 in softball, 21 in swimming, 3 in table tennis, 1 in taekwondo, 2 in triathlon, 6 in volleyball and 13 in water polo. 61 different athletes won a medal, which is 25.10% of all athletes. With a gold and a silver medal Anky van Grunsven was the only multiple medalist. The athletes that qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics are listed below.
The NOC*NSF announced a total of eleven athletes as their official ambassadors in the period before, during and after the Olympics in 2008 until the end of that year. The ambassadors that were chosen were all athletes who had a good chance of qualifying for the Olympics or who had already achieved qualification individually or with their team. They were a mixture of men, women, individual athletes, team athletes, Olympians and Paralympians. Chefs de Mission were Charles van Commenée (Olympics) and Thea Limbach (Paralympics).
The eleven ambassadors were:
Dutch athletes have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following athletics events (up to a maximum of 3 athletes in each event at the 'A' Standard, and 1 at the 'B' Standard). Simon Vroemen, who qualified for the steeplechase event, was tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid dianabol in July 2008.
<small><nowiki>*</nowiki> The athlete who finished in second place, Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine, tested positive for a banned substance. Both the A and the B tests were positive, therefore Blonska was stripped of her silver medal, and Keizer moved up a position.</small>
The qualification criteria for baseball were the same as the international standards. For European countries the first ranked team at the 2007 European Championship would qualify directly, while the second and third ranked teams would qualify for an extra qualification round. The Dutch team became first in the European Championship, securing their spot in Beijing.
Loek van Mil was originally selected in the squad, but withdrew from the tournament before the games had been started. He was replaced by Draijer.
The qualification criteria for field hockey were the same as the international standards. For European countries the first three ranked teams at the 2007 European Championships would qualify directly, while the fourth through eighth ranked teams would qualify for an extra qualification round, of which only the winners of three qualification tournaments would qualify. The Dutch men's team was first in the European Championship, while the women's team was second in their Championship, each team securing their spot in Beijing.
The qualification criteria for football were the same as the international standards. For male European countries the first four ranked teams at the 2007 European Under-21 Championship would qualify. The Dutch men's team was first in the European under-21 Championship, claiming their second consecutive title and securing their spot in Beijing.
To qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics Dutch judokas were required to meet both the international (set by the IOC and IJF) and the Dutch criteria (set by the NOC*NSF).
On 26 January 2008, Elisabeth Willeboordse was the first judoka to secure her spot in Beijing. She proved to remain among the world's top ranked judokas by winning her fifth consecutive World Cup in Sofia. Two days later Edith Bosch qualified by reaching the final of the World Cup in Sofia. On 9 February World Champion Ruben Houkes secured his spot by finishing in the top 7 in the Super World Cup in Paris. The next day Mark Huizinga qualified for his fourth consecutive Olympics as he finished in fifth position at the same event in Paris.
<small><nowiki>* </nowiki> Lubbers replaced the injured Siegelaar in the repechage.</small>
<small>Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage</small>
To qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics Dutch sailors met both the international (set by the IOC and ISAF) and the Dutch criteria (set by the NOC*NSF).
The first two boats to qualify for the Olympics were the women's 470 of Lobke Berkhout and Marcelien de Koning and the finn of Pieter-Jan Postma. Berkhout and De Koning were 2007 World champions in their class, and secured their spot by finishing sixth in the pre-Olympic tournament in Qingdao on 22 August 2007. Postma, who won silver at the 2007 World Championships in the finn class, also qualified during the pre-Olympic tournament by finishing in second place. Brothers Sven and Kalle Coster qualified in the 470 class after finishing 12th in the 2008 World Championships.
<small>M = Medal race; EL = Eliminated â did not advance into the medal race; CAN = Race cancelled</small>
The qualification criteria for softball were the same as the international standards. Reaching the semifinals in the 2006 World Championships was an automatic qualification to compete in the Games in Beijing. The Dutch team did not reach the semifinals, and had to enter the African/European qualification tournament to secure their spot.
Dutch swimmers have so far achieved qualifying standards in the following events (up to a maximum of 2 swimmers in each event at the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT), and 1 at the Olympic Selection Time (OST)).
To qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics Dutch table tennis players needed to meet both the international (set by the IOC and ITTF) and the Dutch criteria (set by the NOC*NSF). Li Jiao qualified herself in January 2008 when she was selected by the ITTF as one of the top 20 players in the World.
To qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics Dutch taekwondo practitioners needed to meet both the international (set by the IOC and WTF) and the Dutch criteria (set by the NOC*NSF). Dennis Bekkers finished third in the qualification tournament in Istanbul, thus qualifying to compete at the Olympics in Beijing.
The Netherlands participated in the women's tournament, where the team won the gold medal.
The qualification criteria for water polo were the same as the international standards. The Dutch women's team became first at the European qualification tournament in Kirishi by beating the host nation Russia in the final.
<small>All times are China Standard Time (UTC+8).</small>