Olof van der Meulen
Encyclopedia
Roelof Antonius van der Meulen (born November 8, 1968 in Sneek
, Friesland
) is a retired volleyball
player
from the Netherlands
, who represented his native country in two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992
in Barcelona, Spain.
After having won the silver medal in 1992, Van der Meulen's finest hour came in 1996, when he won the gold medal in Atlanta, Georgia
with the Dutch Men's Volleyball National Team by defeating Italy
in the final (3-2).
Sneek
Sneek is a city southwest of Leeuwarden and seat of the former municipality of Sneek in the province of Friesland . As for 2011 it is part of the municipality Súdwest Fryslân...
, Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
) is a retired volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
player
Player (game)
A player of a game is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in game theory and in ordinary recreational games....
from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, who represented his native country in two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992
Volleyball at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Volleyball at the 1992 Summer Olympics was represented by two events: men's team and women's team.-Medal table:-Medal summary:-References:*...
in Barcelona, Spain.
After having won the silver medal in 1992, Van der Meulen's finest hour came in 1996, when he won the gold medal in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
with the Dutch Men's Volleyball National Team by defeating Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in the final (3-2).