| Field hockey at the Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC Discipline Code | HOC |
| Governing body | FIH |
| Events | 2 (men: 1; women: 1) |
| Games | |
Field hockey was introduced at the Olympic Games as a men's competition at the 1908 Games in London. India has been the most successful team at the Olympics. Having won a total of 12 medals (8 Gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze) at field hockey .
Field hockey was removed from the Summer Olympic Games at the 1924 Paris Games because of the lack of an international sporting structure. The International Hockey Federation (FIH, Fédération Internationale de Hockey) was founded in Paris that year as a response to field hockey's omission. Men's field hockey became a permanent feature at the next Olympic Games, the 1928 Games in Amsterdam.
India won the gold medal in seven out of eight Olympics from 1928 to 1964. Later, Pakistan was also dominant, winning three gold and three silver medals between 1956 and 1984. India lost their dominance after the 1980s and Pakistan after the 1990s. India won their last gold medal in 1980 and Pakistan in 1984 Games. However, India again won the bronze medal in the 2020 games.
Since 1968, various teams from around the world have seen gold-medal success. Several countries in the Southern Hemisphere have won various medals in men's and women's field hockey, including Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Zimbabwe. A leading group of teams from the Northern Hemisphere has come from the Netherlands and from Germany.
Spain has appeared in the most Olympic men's competitions without winning the men's gold medal, having won silver three times in 1980, 1996, 2008 and bronze once in 1960. Australia had competed in 12 Olympics without winning gold before breaking their streak in 2004.
The first women's Olympic field hockey competition was introduced by the IOC at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Olympic field hockey games were first played on artificial turf at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.
Until the 1988 Olympics the tournament was invitational but FIH introduced a qualification system at the 1992 games. The Netherlands is the leading team in overall medal tally with 18 medals (6 gold, 6 silver and 6 bronze). India leads in most number of gold medals (8).
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  India[e] | 8 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| 2 |  Pakistan | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 |  Great Britain | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| 4 |  Germany | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 |  Netherlands | 2 | 4 | 3 | 9 |
| 6 |  Australia | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 7 | West Germany | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 |  Belgium | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 |  Argentina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 11 |  Spain | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 12 |  Denmark | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Japan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 South Korea | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 15 |  Soviet Union | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 United States | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 United Team of Germany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (17 entries) | 24 | 24 | 25 | 73 | |
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India[e]
|
8 (1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1964, 1980) | 1 (1960) | 3 (1968, 1972, 2020) | |
| Germany[f]
|
4 (1972*, 1992, 2008, 2012) | 3 (1936*, 1984, 1988) | 4 (1928, 1956, 2004, 2016) | 3 (1968, 1996, 2020) |
| 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*) |
| Netherlands
|
2 (1996, 2000) | 4 (1928*, 1952, 2004, 2012) | 3 (1936, 1948, 1988) | 5 (1972, 1976, 1992, 2008, 2016) |
| 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) | 2 (1964, 2004) | |
| 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) |
| Team | 1908 |
1920 |
1928 |
 1932 |
 1936 |
1948 |
 1952 |
1956 |
 1960 |
1964 |
 1968 |
1972 |
 1976 |
1980 |
1984 |
 1988 |
1992 |
1996 |
2000 |
 2004 |
 2008 |
2012 |
 2016 |
2020 |
2024 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Afghanistan
|
– | – | – | – | 6th | 8th | – | 11th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| Argentina
|
– | – | – | – | – | 5th | – | – | – | – | 14th | 14th | 11th | – | – | 8th | 11th | 9th | 8th | 11th | – | 10th | 1st | 7th | Q | 13 |
| Australia
|
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5th | 6th | 3rd | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | – | 4th | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 6th | 2nd | Q | 17 |
 Austria
|
– | – | 9th | – | – | 8th | 7th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| Belgium
|
– | 3rd | 4th | – | 9th | 5th | 9th | 7th | 11th | 11th | 9th | 10th | 9th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9th | 5th | 2nd | 1st | Q | 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Q | 10 |
| Germany
|
5th | – | 3rd | – | 2nd | – | 5th | – | 1st | 4th | 5th | 3rd | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 4th | Q | 13 | ||||||||
| Great Britain
|
– | 1st | – | – | – | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 9th | 12th | 6th | – | – | 3rd | 1st | 6th | 7th | 6th | 9th | 5th | 4th | 9th | 5th | Q | 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 | Q | 22 |
 Ireland
|
2nd | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10th | – | Q | 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 | Q | 20 |
| New Zealand
|
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6th | 5th | 13th | 7th | 9th | 1st | – | 7th | – | 8th | – | – | 6th | 7th | 9th | 7th | 9th | Q | 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 | Q | 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 | Q | 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 | |
| Year | Debuting teams | Successor and renamed teams | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | No. | CT | ||
| 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 debuts | 0 | 27 | |
| 1964 |  Canada,  Hong Kong, Rhodesia
|
3 | 30 | Malaysia
|
| 1968 | East Germany,  Mexico
|
2 | 32 | West Germany
|
| 1972 | Uganda
|
1 | 33 | |
| 1976 | No debuts | 0 | 33 | |
| 1980 | Cuba, Soviet Union, Tanzania
|
3 | 36 | |
| 1984 | No debuts | 0 | 36 | |
| 1988 | South Korea
|
1 | 37 | |
| 1992 | Egypt
|
1 | 38 | Germany,  CIS
|
| 1996 | South Africa
|
1 | 39 | |
| 2000 | No debuts | 0 | 39 | |
| 2004 | No debuts | 0 | 39 | |
| 2008 | China
|
1 | 40 | |
| 2012 | No debuts | 0 | 40 | |
| 2016 | Brazil
|
1 | 41 | |
| 2020 | No debuts | 0 | 41 | |
| 2024 | No debuts | 0 | 41 | |
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Australia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Germany | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Zimbabwe | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | Argentina | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 8 | South Korea | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | China | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Czechoslovakia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| West Germany | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 12 | Soviet Union | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| United States | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (13 entries) | 11 | 11 | 11 | 33 | |
| Team | Winners | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands
|
4 (1984, 2008, 2012, 2020) | 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) | 2 (2004, 2008) | ||
| South Korea
|
2 (1988*, 1996) | 1 (1992) | ||
| China
|
1 (2008*) | 1 (2004) | ||
| Czechoslovakia
|
1 (1980) | |||
| Soviet Union
|
1 (1980*) | |||
| United States
|
1 (1984*) | |||
| India
|
2 (1980, 2020) | |||
| New Zealand
|
2 (2012, 2016) |
| Team | 1980 |
1984 |
1988 |
1992 |
1996 |
2000 |
2004 |
2008 |
2012 |
2016 |
2020 |
2024 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina
|
– | – | 7th | – | 7th | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 7th | 2nd | Q | 9 |
| Australia
|
– | 4th | 1st | 5th | 1st | 1st | 5th | 5th | 5th | 6th | 5th | Q | 11 |
| Austria
|
5th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Belgium
|
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 11th | – | – | Q | 2 |
| Canada
|
– | 5th | 6th | 7th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| China
|
– | – | – | – | – | 5th | 4th | 2nd | 6th | 9th | 9th | Q | 7 |
| Czechoslovakia#
|
2nd | – | – | – | Defunct | 1 | |||||||
| France
|
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Q | 1 |
| Germany
|
– | 2nd | 6th | 7th | 1st | 4th | 7th | 3rd | 6th | Q | 9 | ||
| Great Britain
|
– | – | 4th | 3rd | 4th | 8th | – | 6th | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | Q | 9 |
| India
|
4th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 12th | 4th | – | 3 |
| Ireland
|
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10th | – | 1 |
| Japan
|
– | – | – | – | – | – | 8th | 10th | 9th | 10th | 11th | Q | 6 |
| Netherlands
|
– | 1st | 3rd | 6th | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | Q | 11 |
| New Zealand
|
– | 6th | – | 8th | – | 6th | 6th | 12th | 4th | 4th | 8th | – | 8 |
| Poland
|
6th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| South Africa
|
– | – | – | – | – | 10th | 9th | 11th | 10th | – | 12th | Q | 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 | Q | 8 |
| United States
|
– | 3rd | 8th | – | 5th | – | – | 8th | 12th | 5th | – | Q | 7 |
| West Germany
|
– | 2nd | 5th | Defunct | 2 | ||||||||
| Zimbabwe
|
1st | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Total | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | |
Australia and the Netherlands are the only teams to have competed at almost every Olympic Games, except for only one edition; 23 teams have competed in at least one Olympic Games.
| Year | Debuting teams | Successor and renamed teams | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | No. | CT | ||
| 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 | |
Sources:[1]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  India (IND)[e] | 8 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| 2 |  Netherlands (NED) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| 3 |  Australia (AUS) | 4 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
| 4 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 4 | 2 | 7 | 13 |
| 5 |  Germany (GER) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| 6 |  Pakistan (PAK) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| 7 |  Argentina (ARG) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 |  Spain (ESP) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 9 | West Germany (FRG) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 |  Belgium (BEL) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 |  New Zealand (NZL) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Zimbabwe (ZIM) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 13 |  South Korea (KOR) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 14 |  China (CHN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Denmark (DEN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Japan (JPN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 18 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 United States (USA) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 20 |  United Team of Germany (EUA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (20 entries) | 35 | 35 | 36 | 106 | |
