The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Netherlands

This page contains a list of the greatest Dutch Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 63 of which were born in Netherlands. This makes Netherlands the birth place of the 19th most number of Athletes behind Jamaica, and Japan.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Dutch Athletes of all time. This list of famous Dutch Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Dutch Athletes.

1. Fanny Blankers-Koen (1918 - 2004)

With an HPI of 61.88, Fanny Blankers-Koen is the most famous Dutch Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 39 different languages on wikipedia.

Francina Elsje "Fanny" Blankers-Koen (Dutch: [frɑnˈsinaː ˈʔɛlɕə ˈfɑni ˈblɑŋkərs ˈkun]; 26 April 1918 – 25 January 2004) was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earning her the nickname "the Flying Housewife", and was the most successful athlete at the event. Having started competing in athletics in 1935, she took part in the 1936 Summer Olympics a year later. Although international competition was stopped by World War II, Blankers-Koen set several world records during that period, in events as diverse as the long jump, the high jump, and sprint and hurdling events. Apart from her four Olympic titles, she won five European titles and 58 Dutch championships, and set or tied 12 world records – the last, pentathlon, in 1951 aged 33. She retired from athletics in 1955, after which she became captain of the Dutch female track and field team. In 1999, she was voted "Female Athlete of the Century" by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Her Olympic victories are credited with helping to eliminate the belief that age and motherhood were barriers to success in women's sport.

2. Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs (1923 - 2015)

With an HPI of 55.38, Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs is the 2nd most famous Dutch Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Gerda Johanna Marie van der Kade-Koudijs (29 October 1923 – 19 March 2015) was a Dutch athlete who competed at the 1948 Olympics. She won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay with Xenia Stad-de Jong, Netti Witziers-Timmer, and Fanny Blankers-Koen, she finished fourth in the long jump and was eliminated in a heat of the 80 m hurdles. Two years earlier she won European titles in the 4 × 100 m relay and long jump and finished sixth in the individual 100 m race.

3. Arie van Vliet (1916 - 2001)

With an HPI of 51.16, Arie van Vliet is the 3rd most famous Dutch Athlete. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Arie Gerrit van Vliet (18 March 1916 – 9 July 2001) was a Dutch sprint cyclist. Between 1934 and 1957, he won 13 medals at world championships, including four gold medals, and set several world records in sprint events, despite the interruption by World War II. He also won a gold medal in 1000 m time trial and a silver medal in the individual sprint at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. His Olympic sprint race was obstructed by the winner, German cyclist Toni Merkens, who was however not disqualified, but merely fined for 100 German marks.

4. Netti Witziers-Timmer (1923 - 2005)

With an HPI of 50.81, Netti Witziers-Timmer is the 4th most famous Dutch Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Jeannette Josephina Maria "Netti" Witziers-Timmer (née Timmer, 22 July 1923 – 25 January 2005) was a Dutch sprinter. In 1944 she was a member of the Dutch teams that set world records in the 4×110 yard and 4×200 m relays. Two years later she won a European title, and in 1948 an Olympic gold medal in the 4×100 m relay with Xenia Stad-de Jong, Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs, and Fanny Blankers-Koen. The 1948 Dutch relay team was remarkable (for that era) in that all its members were married and had children.

5. Tinus Osendarp (1916 - 2002)

With an HPI of 48.42, Tinus Osendarp is the 5th most famous Dutch Athlete. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Martinus Bernardus "Tinus" Osendarp (Dutch: [mɑrˈtinʏz bɛrˈnɑrdʏs ˈtinʏs ˈoːsə(n)ˌdɑr(ə)p]; 21 May 1916 – 20 June 2002) was a Dutch sprint runner.

6. François Brandt (1874 - 1949)

With an HPI of 48.35, François Brandt is the 6th most famous Dutch Athlete. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

François Antoine Brandt (29 December 1874 – 4 July 1949) was a Dutch rower who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. Brandt was part of the Dutch eight team that won a bronze medal with Hermanus Brockmann as the coxswain. Brockmann also steered the boat of Brandt and Roelof Klein in the coxed pairs semifinal, which they lost to France. The pair realized that the 60 kg weight of Brockmann puts them in disadvantage; they replaced him with a local boy of 33 kg and won the final narrowly beating the French team. Brandt had a degree in civil engineering and until 1938 worked for the Dutch railways. Later he became bishop for Belgium and Netherlands for the Liberal Catholic Church.

7. Roelof Klein (1877 - 1960)

With an HPI of 48.23, Roelof Klein is the 7th most famous Dutch Athlete. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Roelof Klein (7 June 1877 – 12 February 1960) was a Dutch rower who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris. Klein was part of the Dutch eight team that won a bronze medal with Hermanus Brockmann as the coxswain. Brockmann also steered the boat of Klein and François Brandt in the coxed pairs semifinal, which they lost to France. The pair realized that the 60 kg weight of Brockmann puts them in disadvantage; they replaced him with a local boy of 33 kg and won the final narrowly beating the French team. Klein had a degree in mechanical engineering and worked abroad for the Shell company. In 1910 he immigrated to the United States and died there in 1960.

8. Jopie Selbach (1918 - 1998)

With an HPI of 46.07, Jopie Selbach is the 8th most famous Dutch Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Johanna "Jopie" Katarina Selbach (27 July 1918 – 30 April 1998) was a freestyle swimmer from the Netherlands. She won gold medals at the 1934 European Aquatics Championships (with Willy den Ouden, Rie Mastenbroek and Ans Timmermans) and 1936 Summer Olympics (with den Ouden, Mastenbroek and Tini Wagner) in the women's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay.

9. Johannes van Dijk (1868 - 1938)

With an HPI of 45.59, Johannes van Dijk is the 9th most famous Dutch Athlete. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Johannes Wilhelmus Maria van Dijk (4 July 1868 in Amsterdam – 25 August 1938 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch rower who competed in the 1900 Summer Olympics. He was part of the Dutch boat Minerva Amsterdam, which won the bronze medal in the eight event.

10. Willem Slijkhuis (1923 - 2003)

With an HPI of 45.56, Willem Slijkhuis is the 10th most famous Dutch Athlete. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Willem Frederik "Wim" Slijkhuis (13 January 1923 – 28 June 2003) was a Dutch athlete. During his career that lasted from 1939 to 1954 he was a world's top middle distance runner, excelling in distances from 1500 to 5000 metres. Slijkhuis began his international sports career shortly after World War II, having competed nationally since 1939. In 1946, he won a silver medal in the 5000 m at the European Championships in Oslo. Two years later he took part in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, and was a favourite to win a medal. In the 5000 m he finished third, behind Belgian Gaston Reiff and the legendary Emil Zátopek; nevertheless Slijkhuis was not satisfied. In the 1500 m, his second event, he could have done better, but started his final sprint to the finish line too late to catch the two leading Swedes, who finished narrowly ahead of him. In spite of this, realising 3:50.4 he equalled his own Dutch record, set two years earlier. Slijkhuis' achievements were overshadowed, however, by the performances of compatriot Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won four gold medals at the same Olympics. In 1950, Slijkhuis did win a major title: the 1500 m at the European championships held in Brussels, with a time of 3:47.2. His personal best at this distance had already been improved to 3:43.8, realised one year earlier in Antwerp and only 0.8 s away from the existing world record at the time. During his career Willem Slijkhuis didn't just run almost everywhere in Europe, but also in New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. He was the first Dutchman who competed in the US Indoor circuit and the first non-American, who ever succeeded in obtaining the US title over one mile. Owing to his stubborn behaviour Slijkhuis sometimes clashed with officials of the Dutch Athletics Federation, who he accused of outrageous interference. On the track however he impressed experts and public with his smooth, steady running style. Especially the English were delighted about his beautiful running style, which they lyrically described as "The Poetry of motion". His second Olympic participation in the 1952 Summer Olympics ended without any successes. Slijkhuis, who won eleven national titles – including eight in the men's 5000 metres – on track, seven in Cross country running and set thirty Dutch records, ended his career in 1954 due to injuries. He died on 28 June 2003 in Badhoevedorp.

People

Pantheon has 289 people classified as Dutch athletes born between 1759 and 2004. Of these 289, 268 (92.73%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Dutch athletes include Mia Gommers, Harry Steevens, and Ria Stalman. The most famous deceased Dutch athletes include Fanny Blankers-Koen, Gerda van der Kade-Koudijs, and Arie van Vliet. As of April 2024, 225 new Dutch athletes have been added to Pantheon including Jopie Selbach, Johannes van Dijk, and Hermanus Brockmann.