Field hockey at the Summer Olympics

Field hockey at the Summer Olympics
IOC CodeHOC
Governing bodyFIH
Events2 (men: 1; women: 1)
Summer Olympics

Field hockey made its debut at the Modern Olympic Games as a men's competition in the 1908 Games in London. It was removed from the Olympic schedule of the Summer Olympic Games for the 1924 Paris Games and was reintroduced in the 1928 Amsterdam Games. The Women's field hockey was introduced into the Olympic programme at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) was founded in 1924 and governs the hockey events. Until the 1988 Olympics, the tournament was invitational but a qualification system was introduced since the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The last edition at Paris was the 25th occurrence of the men's event and 12th consecutive occurrence of women's event in the Olympics.

India holds the record for the most appearances in the Olympic men's competitions (22) while Australia and Netherlands hold the same record in women's competitions (11). India leads the medal tally for the men's events with 13 medals while the Netherlands heads the women's events with 10 medals.

Great Britain won the first two editions of the men's event in 1908 and 1920. India won the gold medal in seven out of eight Olympics from 1928 to 1964 with Pakistan winning three gold and silver medals each between the 1956 and 1984 Games. The matches are played on artificial turf since 1976. Since the late 1980s, European nations have dominated the hockey events with Germany and Netherlands having won three gold medals each in the men's event. In the women's event, Netherlands and Australia have been dominant, having won five and three gold medals respectively since its introduction in 1980.

History

[edit]

Field hockey was introduced at the Modern Olympic Games as a men's competition at the 1908 Games in London. Great Britain won the first two editions in 1908 (as England) and 1920.[1] It was removed from the Olympic schedule of the Summer Olympic Games for the 1924 Paris Games because of the lack of an international sporting structure. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) was founded in Paris that year as a response to the same.[2] Men's field hockey was added to the Olympics for the next Olympic Games in 1928 Games held at Amsterdam.[1][3]

Indian team that won the gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Starting in 1928, India won the gold medal in seven out of eight Olympics till 1964 including six consecutive gold medals from the 1928 Olympics to 1956.[4][5] Pakistan won its first gold medal in 1960 and won three gold and silver medals each in a run lasting from 1956 to 1984.[6] West Germany won the gold medal in the 1972 Munich Olympics, for the first gold medal by a non-Asian country since 1928. Olympic field hockey games were first played on artificial turf at the 1976 Montreal Games and was won by New Zealand.[1][7] The domination of both the Asian countries came to an end in the late 1980s with India winning its last gold medal in the competition in 1980 and Pakistan in 1984.[5][6]

Though the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) was founded way back in 1927, Women's field hockey made its debut at the Summer Olympics only at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and was won by Zimbabwe. On 23 April 1983, women’s hockey programme was taken over by FIH and the IFWHA was dissolved.[3] Great Britain won its first gold medal in the men's event since 1920 in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.[1]

Netherlands women's team after winning gold at the 2012 Olympics

Until the 1988 Olympics, the tournament was invitational but FIH introduced a qualification system starting from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Since the 1990s, European countries have been dominant in the men's sport with the only exceptions being the wins by Australia in 2004 and Argentina in 2016. Both Germany and Netherlands have won three gold medals each, with the only other European winner being Belgium in 2020.[1] In the women's events, Netherlands and Australia have been dominant, having won five and three gold medals respectively since its introduction to the Olympic programme in 1980. The only other winners of the women's event were Spain in 1992, Germany in 2004, and Great Britain in 2016.[1]

The last edition of both the men's and women's events were held as a part of the 2024 Paris Olympics with Netherlands winning both the events.[8][9] India holds the record for the most appearances in the Olympic men's competitions (22) and Spain has appeared in the most Olympic men's competitions (19) without winning the men's gold medal with the best place finishes being the silver medal won in 1980, 1996, and 2008.[5][10] Australia and Netherlands hold the record for the most appearances in the Olympic women's competitions (11).[3] India leads the medal tally for the men's events with 13 medals including eight gold medals. Netherlands heads the women's events with 10 medals including five gold medals and also leads the overall medal tally with 20 medals (eight gold, six silver and six bronze).[11][3]

Men

[edit]

Results

[edit]
Year Host Gold medal match Bronze medal match Number of teams
Gold medal Score Silver medal Bronze medal Score Fourth place
1908
Details
London, Great Britain
Great Britain

(England)
8–1
Great Britain
(Ireland)

Great Britain
(Scotland)

Great Britain
(Wales)
[a] 6
1912 Stockholm, Sweden No tournament No tournament
1920
Details
Antwerp, Belgium
Great Britain
[b]
Denmark

Belgium
[b]
France
4
1924 Paris, France No tournament No tournament
1928
Details
Amsterdam, Netherlands
India
3–0
Netherlands

Germany
3–0
Belgium
9
1932
Details
Los Angeles, United States
India
[c]
Japan

United States
[c] 3
1936
Details
Berlin, Germany
India
8–1
Germany

Netherlands
4–3
France
11
1948
Details
London, Great Britain
India
4–0
Great Britain

Netherlands
1–1
4–1
(Replay)

Pakistan
13
1952
Details
Helsinki, Finland
India
6–1
Netherlands

Great Britain
2–1
Pakistan
12
1956
Details
Melbourne, Australia
India
1–0
Pakistan

United Team of Germany[d]
3–1
Great Britain
12
1960
Details
Rome, Italy
Pakistan
1–0
India

Spain
2–1
Great Britain
16
1964
Details
Tokyo, Japan
India
1–0
Pakistan

Australia
3–2
after extra time

Spain
15
1968
Details
Mexico City, Mexico
Pakistan
2–1
Australia

India
2–1
West Germany
16
1972
Details
Munich, West Germany
West Germany
1–0
Pakistan

India
2–1
Netherlands
16
1976
Details
Montreal, Canada
New Zealand
1–0
Australia

Pakistan
3–2
Netherlands
11
1980
Details
Moscow, Soviet Union
India
4–3
Spain

Soviet Union
2–1
Poland
6
1984
Details
Los Angeles, United States
Pakistan
2–1
after extra time

West Germany

Great Britain
3–2
Australia
12
1988
Details
Seoul, South Korea
Great Britain
3–1
West Germany

Netherlands
2–1
Australia
12
1992
Details
Barcelona, Spain
Germany
2–1
Australia

Pakistan
4–3
Netherlands
12
1996
Details
Atlanta, United States
Netherlands
3–1
Spain

Australia
3–2
Germany
12
2000
Details
Sydney, Australia
Netherlands
3–3
after extra time
(5–4)
Penalty strokes

South Korea

Australia
6–3
Pakistan
12
2004
Details
Athens, Greece
Australia
2–1
after extra time

Netherlands

Germany
4–3
after extra time

Spain
12
2008
Details
Beijing, China
Germany
1–0
Spain

Australia
6–2
Netherlands
12
2012
Details
London, Great Britain
Germany
2–1
Netherlands

Australia
3–1
Great Britain
12
2016
Details
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Argentina
4–2
Belgium

Germany
1–1
(4–3)
Penalty shootout

Netherlands
12
2020
Details
Tokyo, Japan
Belgium
1–1
(3–2)
Penalty shootout

Australia

India
5–4
Germany
12
2024
Details
Paris, France
Netherlands
1–1
(3–1)
Penalty shootout

Germany

India
2–1
Spain
12

Medal table

[edit]
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 India[e]81413
2 Netherlands34310
3 Pakistan3328
4 Great Britain3249
5 Germany3238
6 Australia14510
7 West Germany1203
8 Belgium1113
9 Argentina1001
 New Zealand1001
11 Spain0314
12 Denmark0101
 Japan0101
 South Korea0101
15 Soviet Union0011
 United States0011
 United Team of Germany0011
Totals (17 entries)25252676

Top four statistics

[edit]
Team Winners Runners-up Third place Fourth place
 India[e] 8 (1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1980) 1 (1960) 4 (1968, 1972, 2020, 2024)
 Germany[f] 4 (1972*, 1992, 2008, 2012) 4 (1936*, 1984, 1988, 2024) 4 (1928, 1956, 2004, 2016) 3 (1968, 1996, 2020)
 Netherlands 3 (1996, 2000, 2024) 4 (1928*, 1952, 2004, 2012) 3 (1936, 1948, 1988) 5 (1972, 1976, 1992, 2008, 2016)
 Pakistan 3 (1960, 1968, 1984) 3 (1956, 1964, 1972) 2 (1976, 1992) 3 (1948, 1952, 2000)
 Great Britain 3 (1908*, 1920, 1988) 2 (1908*, 1948*) 4 (1908*, 1908*, 1952, 1984) 3 (1956, 1960, 2012*)
 Australia 1 (2004) 4 (1968, 1976, 1992, 2020) 5 (1964, 1996, 2000*, 2008, 2012) 2 (1984, 1988)
 Belgium 1 (2020) 1 (2016) 1 (1920*) 1 (1928)
 New Zealand 1 (1976)
 Argentina 1 (2016)
 Spain 3 (1980, 1996, 2008) 1 (1960) 3 (1964, 2004, 2024)
 Denmark 1 (1920)
 Japan 1 (1932)
 South Korea 1 (2000)
 United States 1 (1932*)
 Soviet Union 1 (1980*)
 France 2 (1920, 1936)
 Poland 1 (1980)
* = host nation

Team appearances

[edit]

Since the debut of the hockey programme in 1908, 45 teams have competed in at least one Olympic Games.

Team United Kingdom
1908
Belgium
1920
Netherlands
1928
United States
1932
Nazi Germany
1936
United Kingdom
1948
Finland
1952
Australia
1956
Italy
1960
Japan
1964
Mexico
1968
West Germany
1972
Canada
1976
Soviet Union
1980
United States
1984
South Korea
1988
Spain
1992
United States
1996
Australia
2000
Greece
2004
China
2008
United Kingdom
2012
Brazil
2016
Japan
2020
France
2024
Total
 Afghanistan 6th 8th 11th 3
 Argentina 5th 14th 14th 11th 8th 11th 9th 8th 11th 10th 1st 7th 8th 13
 Australia 5th 6th 3rd 2nd 5th 2nd 4th 4th 2nd 3rd 3rd 1st 3rd 3rd 6th 2nd 6th 17
 Austria 9th 8th 7th 3
 Belgium 3rd 4th 9th 5th 9th 7th 11th 11th 9th 10th 9th 9th 5th 2nd 1st 5th 16
 Brazil 12th 1
 Canada 13th 10th 12th 11th 10th 10th 11th 12th 8
 China 11th 1
 CIS 10th Defunct 1
 Cuba 5th 1
 Denmark 2nd 5th 10th 11th 16th 5
 East Germany 11th Defunct 1
 Egypt 12th 12th 2
 England 1st Part of Great Britain 1
 Finland 9th 1
 France 6th 4th 5th 4th 8th 11th 10th 10th 12th 11th 10
 Germany 5th 3rd 2nd 5th 1st 4th 5th 3rd 1st 1st 3rd 4th 2nd 13
 Great Britain 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 4th 9th 12th 6th 3rd 1st 6th 7th 6th 9th 5th 4th 9th 5th 7th 19
 Hong Kong 15th 1
 Hungary 8th 1
 India 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd 1st 3rd 3rd 7th 1st 5th 6th 7th 8th 7th 7th 12th 8th 3rd 3rd 22
 Ireland 2nd 10th 10th 3
 Italy 11th 13th 2
 Japan 2nd 7th 14th 7th 13th 11th 6
 Kenya 10th 7th 6th 8th 13th 9th 12th 7
 Malaysia 9th 9th 15th 8th 8th 10th 9th 11th 11th 9
 Mexico 16th 16th 2
 Netherlands 2nd 3rd 3rd 2nd 9th 7th 5th 4th 4th 6th 3rd 4th 1st 1st 2nd 4th 2nd 4th 6th 1st 20
 New Zealand 6th 5th 13th 7th 9th 1st 7th 8th 6th 7th 9th 7th 9th 12th 14
 Pakistan 4th 4th 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 3rd 1st 5th 3rd 6th 4th 5th 8th 7th 16
 Poland 6th 12th 11th 4th 12th 5
 Rhodesia 11th Defunct 1
 Scotland 3rd Part of Great Britain 1
 Singapore 8th 1
 South Africa 10th 10th 12th 11th 10th 9th 6
 South Korea 10th 5th 2nd 8th 6th 8th 6
 Soviet Union# 3rd 7th Defunct 2
 Spain 7th 11th 3rd 4th 6th 7th 6th 2nd 8th 9th 5th 2nd 9th 4th 2nd 6th 5th 8th 4th 19
  Switzerland 7th 5th 5th 7th 15th 5
 Tanzania 6th 1
 Uganda 15th 1
 United States 3rd 11th 11th 12th 12th 12th 6
 United Team of Germany 3rd 7th 5th Defunct 3
 Wales 3rd Part of Great Britain 1
 West Germany 4th 1st 5th 2nd 2nd Defunct 5
Total 6 4 9 3 11 13 12 12 16 15 16 16 11 6 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
# = states or teams that have since split into two or more independent teams

Debut of teams

[edit]
Year Debuting teams No. CT Successor or
renamed teams
1908  England,  France,  Germany,  Ireland,  Scotland,  Wales 6 6
1920  Belgium,  Denmark 2 8  Great Britain
1928  Austria,  India,  Netherlands,  Spain,   Switzerland 5 13
1932  Japan,  United States 2 15
1936  Afghanistan,  Hungary 2 17
1948  Argentina,  Pakistan 2 19
1952  Finland,  Italy,  Poland 3 22
1956  Australia,  Kenya,  Malaya,  New Zealand,  Singapore 5 27  United Team of Germany
1960 No debut 0 27
1964  Canada,  Hong Kong,  Rhodesia 3 30  Malaysia
1968  East Germany,  Mexico 2 32  West Germany
1972  Uganda 1 33
1976 None 0 33
1980  Cuba,  Soviet Union,  Tanzania 3 36
1984 None 0 36
1988  South Korea 1 37
1992  Egypt 1 38  Germany, CIS
1996  South Africa 1 39
2000 None 0 39
2004 None 0 39
2008  China 1 40
2012 None 0 40
2016  Brazil 1 41
2020 None 0 41
2024 None 0 41

Women

[edit]

Results

[edit]
Year Host Gold medal match Bronze medal match Number of teams
Gold medal Score Silver medal Bronze medal Score Fourth place
1980
Details
Moscow, Soviet Union
Zimbabwe
[g]
Czechoslovakia

Soviet Union
[g]
India
6
1984
Details
Los Angeles, United States
Netherlands
[h]
West Germany

United States
(10–5)
Penalty strokes[i]

Australia
6
1988
Details
Seoul, South Korea
Australia
2–0
South Korea

Netherlands
3–1
Great Britain
8
1992
Details
Barcelona, Spain
Spain
2–1
after extra time

Germany

Great Britain
4–3
South Korea
8
1996
Details
Atlanta, United States
Australia
3–1
South Korea

Netherlands
0–0
after extra time
(4–3)
Penalty strokes

Great Britain
8
2000
Details
Sydney, Australia
Australia
3–1
Argentina

Netherlands
2–0
Spain
10
2004
Details
Athens, Greece
Germany
2–1
Netherlands

Argentina
1–0
China
10
2008
Details
Beijing, China
Netherlands
2–0
China

Argentina
3–1
Germany
12
2012
Details
London, Great Britain
Netherlands
2–0
Argentina

Great Britain
3–1
New Zealand
12
2016
Details
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Great Britain
3–3
(2–0)
Penalty shootout

Netherlands

Germany
2–1
New Zealand
12
2020
Details
Tokyo, Japan
Netherlands
3–1
Argentina

Great Britain
4–3
India
12
2024
Details
Paris, France
Netherlands
1–1
(3–1)
Penalty shootout

China

Argentina
2–2
(3–1)
Penalty shootout

Belgium
12

Medal table

[edit]
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Netherlands52310
2 Australia3003
3 Germany1113
4 Great Britain1034
5 Spain1001
 Zimbabwe1001
7 Argentina0336
8 China0202
 South Korea0202
10 Czechoslovakia0101
 West Germany0101
12 Soviet Union0011
 United States0011
Totals (13 entries)12121236

Top four statistics

[edit]
Team Winners Runners-up Third place Fourth place
 Netherlands 5 (1984, 2008, 2012, 2020, 2024) 2 (2004, 2016) 3 (1988, 1996, 2000)
 Australia 3 (1988, 1996, 2000*) 1 (1984)
 Germany[j] 1 (2004) 2 (1984, 1992) 1 (2016) 1 (2008)
 Great Britain 1 (2016) 3 (1992, 2012*, 2020) 2 (1988, 1996)
 Spain 1 (1992*) 1 (2000)
 Zimbabwe 1 (1980)
 Argentina 3 (2000, 2012, 2020) 3 (2004, 2008, 2024)
 South Korea 2 (1988*, 1996) 1 (1992)
 China 2 (2008*, 2024) 1 (2004)
 Czechoslovakia 1 (1980)
 Soviet Union 1 (1980*)
 United States 1 (1984*)
 India 2 (1980, 2020)
 New Zealand 2 (2012, 2016)
 Belgium 1 (2024)
* = host nation

Team appearances

[edit]

Since its debut at the 1980 Games, 23 teams have competed in at least one Olympic Games.

Team Soviet Union
1980
United States
1984
South Korea
1988
Spain
1992
United States
1996
Australia
2000
Greece
2004
China
2008
United Kingdom
2012
Brazil
2016
Japan
2020
France
2024
Total
 Argentina 7th 7th 2nd 3rd 3rd 2nd 7th 2nd 3rd 9
 Australia 4th 1st 5th 1st 1st 5th 5th 5th 6th 5th 5th 11
 Austria 5th 1
 Belgium 11th 4th 2
 Canada 5th 6th 7th 3
 China 5th 4th 2nd 6th 9th 9th 2nd 7
 Czechoslovakia# 2nd Defunct 1
 France 12th 1
 Germany 2nd 6th 7th 1st 4th 7th 3rd 6th 6th 9
 Great Britain 4th 3rd 4th 8th 6th 3rd 1st 3rd 8th 9
 India 4th 12th 4th 3
 Ireland 10th 1
 Japan 8th 10th 9th 10th 11th 10th 6
 Netherlands 1st 3rd 6th 3rd 3rd 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 1st 1st 11
 New Zealand 6th 8th 6th 6th 12th 4th 4th 8th 8
 Poland 6th 1
 South Africa 10th 9th 11th 10th 12th 11th 6
 South Korea 2nd 4th 2nd 9th 7th 9th 8th 11th 8
 Soviet Union# 3rd Defunct 1
 Spain 1st 8th 4th 10th 7th 8th 7th 7th 8
 United States 3rd 8th 5th 8th 12th 5th 9th 7
 West Germany 2nd 5th Defunct 2
 Zimbabwe 1st 1
Total 6 6 8 8 8 10 10 12 12 12 12 12
# = states or teams that have since split into two or more independent teams

Debut of teams

[edit]
Year Debuting teams No. CT Successor or
renamed teams
1980  Austria,  Czechoslovakia *,  India,  Poland,  Soviet Union *,  Zimbabwe 6 6
1984  Australia,  Canada,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  United States,  West Germany * 6 12
1988  Argentina,  Great Britain,  South Korea 3 15
1992  Spain 1 16  Germany
1996 No debuts 0 16
2000  China,  South Africa 2 18
2004 No debuts 0 18
2008  Japan 1 19
2012  Belgium 1 20
2016 No debuts 0 20
2020  Ireland 1 21
2024  France 1 22
* = Defunct Team

Medal table

[edit]
The medal ceremony of the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome

Source:[12]

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Netherlands (NED)86620
2 India (IND)[e]81413
3 Australia (AUS)44513
4 Germany (GER)43411
5 Great Britain (GBR)42713
6 Pakistan (PAK)3328
7 Argentina (ARG)1337
8 Spain (ESP)1315
9 West Germany (FRG)*1304
10 Belgium (BEL)1113
11 New Zealand (NZL)1001
 Zimbabwe (ZIM)1001
13 South Korea (KOR)0303
14 China (CHN)0202
15 Czechoslovakia (TCH)*0101
 Denmark (DEN)0101
 Japan (JPN)0101
18 Soviet Union (URS)*0022
 United States (USA)0022
20 United Team of Germany (EUA)*0011
Totals (20 entries)373738112
* = Defunct Team

Olympic records

[edit]
India against Great Britain in the final of the 1948 Olympics

Men

[edit]

Women

[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ There was no bronze medal match for the 1908 Games in London.
  2. ^ a b The 1920 tournament was played in a round-robin format, so there were no gold medal or bronze medal matches.
  3. ^ a b Three teams participated in the 1932 tournament, so they played a round-robin format.
  4. ^ The United Team of Germany was the combined team from West Germany and East Germany that competed together at the Olympic Games from 1956 to 1964. Then each country sent independent teams from 1968 to 1988.
  5. ^ a b c Includes three gold medals as British India
  6. ^ Includes results representing the United Team of Germany from 1956 to 1964 and West Germany from 1968 to 1988
  7. ^ a b Round-robin format play in 1980 for women's tournament
  8. ^ Round Robin format use in 1984 women's tournament
  9. ^ The final standings show both the United States and Australia were tied in points and had same margin in goal difference (both having scored 9 goals and conceded 7 goals), therefore a penalty stroke competition was played to decide the bronze medal winner, with the United States winning.
  10. ^ Includes representing West Germany from 1984 to 1988

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Field hockey Olympic records and results". NBC Olympics. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  2. ^ "History | FIH". International Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Hockey at the Olympics". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  4. ^ "How Indian hockey cast a spell to win the 1928 Olympics gold". Olympics.com. 3 April 2021. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Indian hockey men at the Olympics: A gold-laden history". Olympics.com. 20 March 2020. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b "How many Olympic medals have Pakistan won". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Olympic history: How artificial surfaces altered the balance of power in world hockey". Money Control. 27 July 2024. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Netherlands women secure Olympic gold". International Hockey Federation. 9 August 2024. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Netherlands men's team strike Olympic gold". International Hockey Federation. 10 August 2024. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Spanish on course to realise Olympic dream". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 August 2008. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Indian field hockey records". Khel Now. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Olympic Analytics – Medals by Countries". Olympanalyt.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g "Men's Hockey at the Olympic Games: A statistical rewind". International Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Indian field hockey records". Khelnow. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Most goals scored by an individual in an Olympic hockey final (male)". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Women's Hockey at the Olympic Games: A statistical rewind". International Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.