Before Thijs van Dam left for the Paris Olympics, he had one last glance at the trophy cabinet at his Rotterdam home. In it hung several gold medals won at the Olympic Games, World Cup, World League and Champions Trophy. None of them belonged to him.
They were won by his partner Pien Sanders. Having never won a major gold, the Dutch hockey forward told himself that “it’s time for me to win gold”. Despite being among the top teams in world hockey, the Dutch men’s team had failed to win the Olympics or World Cup for the last 24 years.
The wait ended on Thursday, when Netherlands edged past Germany 1-1 (3-1) to win their third Olympic gold, and first since Sydney 2000. With the medal in his pocket, van Dam went to the century old Stade Yves-du-Manoir a day later, this time to witness Sanders stand on the top step of the podium as the Dutch women clinched their second successive gold at the Olympics. While Sanders ran to van Dam to celebrate their success, millions back home savoured the twin wins as Netherlands became the first country in the history of Olympics to win both the hockey golds.
While it is a routine affair for the women’s team to win golds, the men had to endure a long period of frustration before emerging victorious. Since winning gold at Sydney, the Dutch men’s team has been among the best in the world but hadn’t been able to cross the line first, ending with two silver medals in the five Olympics in between, and five podium spots in six editions of.