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The Most Famous

SWIMMERS from Netherlands

This page contains a list of the greatest Dutch Swimmers. The pantheon dataset contains 392 Swimmers, 16 of which were born in Netherlands. This makes Netherlands the birth place of the 9th most number of Swimmers behind United Kingdom and China.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Dutch Swimmers of all time. This list of famous Dutch Swimmers 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 Swimmers.

1. Rie Mastenbroek (1919 - 2003)

With an HPI of 51.12, Rie Mastenbroek is the most famous Dutch Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.

Hendrika "Rie" Wilhelmina Mastenbroek (26 February 1919 – 6 November 2003) was a Dutch swimmer and a triple Olympic champion.

2. Marie Braun (1911 - 1982)

With an HPI of 47.34, Marie Braun is the 2nd most famous Dutch Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Maria "Marie" Johanna Philipsen-Braun (22 June 1911 – 23 June 1982), also known as Zus Braun, was a Dutch swimmer. She competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam and in 1932 in Los Angeles, winning a gold medal in the 100 m backstroke and a silver in the 400 m freestyle in 1928. She failed to reach the finals of these events at the 1932 Games due to a sudden illness during the preliminary heats. During her career Braun set six world and 25 national records. Braun was the daughter of the prominent Dutch swimming coach Ma Braun. She had her first international success at the 1927 European Championships, where she won one gold and two bronze medals in the 100 m and 4 × 100 m freestyle and 100 m backstroke. She won gold medals in these events at the next European championships in 1931. After these wins and her medals at the 1928 Olympics, Braun was a favorite at the 1932 Olympics. However after swimming 400 m heats she was hospitalized with a strong fever, and retired from swimming shortly after that. In 1980, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

3. Nel van Vliet (1926 - 2006)

With an HPI of 44.63, Nel van Vliet is the 3rd most famous Dutch Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Petronella "Nel" van Vliet (17 January 1926 – 4 January 2006) was a breaststroke swimmer from the Netherlands. She won gold medals in the 200 m breaststroke at the 1947 European Aquatics Championships and 1948 Summer Olympics. In 1973, she was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

4. Nida Senff (1920 - 1995)

With an HPI of 43.48, Nida Senff is the 4th most famous Dutch Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Dina Willemina Jacoba "Nida" Senff (3 April 1920 – 27 June 1995) was a backstroke swimmer from the Netherlands who won the 100 metres backstroke at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. She did so after missing a turning point, went back to push the wall, and still won the race. Senff won the Dutch title in the 100 metres backstroke in 1935 and 1937, and set five world records in 100 m, 150 yd and 200 m backstroke in 1936–1937. In 1983, she was inducted to the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

5. Pieter van den Hoogenband (1978 - )

With an HPI of 42.97, Pieter van den Hoogenband is the 5th most famous Dutch Swimmer. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Pieter Cornelis Martijn van den Hoogenband (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈpitɛr vɑn dən ˈɦoːɣə(m)ˌbɑnt]; born 14 March 1978) is a Dutch retired swimmer. He is a triple Olympic champion and former world record holder.

6. Inge de Bruijn (1973 - )

With an HPI of 41.51, Inge de Bruijn is the 6th most famous Dutch Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Inge de Bruijn (Dutch: [ˈɪŋə də ˈbrœyn]; born 24 August 1973) is a Dutch former competitive swimmer. She is a four-time Olympic champion and a former world record-holder.

7. Ada Kok (1947 - )

With an HPI of 41.33, Ada Kok is the 7th most famous Dutch Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Aagje ("Ada") Kok (born 6 June 1947, in Amsterdam, North Holland) is a former Dutch swimmer who ranked among the world's best in the butterfly stroke category during the 1960s. Her international career started in 1962 when, at the age of fifteen, she took the European title in the 100 m butterfly in Leipzig. She was also part of the silver 4×100 m medley relay team. At the Tokyo Olympics two years later she finished second in both events. She was also good at freestyle swimming, which showed when she took second place in the 400 metres at the 1966 European Championships in Utrecht. In the same tournament she also won the 100 m butterfly and the 4×100 m relay. She achieved nine world records between 1963 and 1967 in the 100 m and 200 m (not introduced until later). Kok reached her peak at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. She won the gold medal in the 200 meter butterfly race in a time of 2:24.7, beating the East German Helga Lindner by 0.1 seconds. The 100 meter butterfly race in that Olympic Games ended in disappointment for her, when she did not feel well beforehand, and finished in fourth place.. Normally after a race there were always people around me. This time nobody. Nobody. I suddenly felt so abandoned and alone. Then under the shower I lost control and cried my eyes out.' For the 200 meter final, I was so stiff and rigid that I couldn't even see myself getting my tracksuit bottoms off. My fingers couldn't get the zipper undone. An official had to help me with it. I don't remember anything now of the first hundred metres. It's a black hole. Well anyway, after 150 meters I was in the lead. Twenty meters from the finish, I saw someone (Lindner) catching up with me. I thought, "Jesus, no, she is not getting past me." Fortunately, I was able to keep in front. In her memoirs written by Henk Lichtenveldt, she stated: Approaching the podium of honor I felt like I was walking on clouds. I had to contain myself because I wanted to rush over the stands skipping like a foal. This was the crowning moment in a great swimming career.

8. Ranomi Kromowidjojo (1990 - )

With an HPI of 37.42, Ranomi Kromowidjojo is the 8th most famous Dutch Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Ranomi Kromowidjojo (Dutch pronunciation: [raːˈnoːmi ˌkroːmoːʋiˈɟoːjoː]; born 20 August 1990) is a retired Dutch swimmer of mixed Dutch-Javanese Surinamese origin who mainly specialises in sprint freestyle events. She is a triple Olympic champion, winning the gold medal in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the 2008 Olympics, and in the 50 m freestyle and 100 m freestyle at the 2012 Olympics. Kromowidjojo holds the world record in the 50 meter freestyle short course (25 m pool), and as part of the Dutch team she holds the world record in the 4×50 m freestyle relay (short course). She formerly held world records in the 4 × 100 m and 4 × 200 m freestyle relays (short course). She has won a total of 39 medals in FINA World Championship events.

9. Petra van Staveren (1966 - )

With an HPI of 34.19, Petra van Staveren is the 9th most famous Dutch Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Petronella ("Petra") Grietje van Staveren (born 2 June 1966) is a former breaststroke swimmer from the Netherlands who won the gold medal in the 100 meter breaststroke at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She also won a bronze at the 1986 world championships and a European silver in 1983 in the 4×100 meter medley relay. She finished five times in fourth place at European championships in 1981–1985.

10. Marleen Veldhuis (1979 - )

With an HPI of 33.77, Marleen Veldhuis is the 10th most famous Dutch Swimmer. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Magdalena Johanna Maria "Marleen" Veldhuis (born 29 June 1979) is a retired swimmer from the Netherlands. She was world record holder in four events (one individual event and three relay events). Veldhuis won eight world championships gold medals and 20 European championships gold medals. In the Olympics, she won a bronze medal in London 2012 in the 50 m freestyle, as well as three relay medals: bronze in Athens 2004, gold in Beijing 2008, and silver in London 2012.

People

Pantheon has 16 people classified as swimmers born between 1911 and 1995. Of these 16, 12 (75.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living swimmers include Pieter van den Hoogenband, Inge de Bruijn, and Ada Kok. The most famous deceased swimmers include Rie Mastenbroek, Marie Braun, and Nel van Vliet. As of April 2022, 1 new swimmers have been added to Pantheon including Arno Kamminga.