Pieter van den Hoogenband

Pieter van den Hoogenband is a Dutch former competitive swimmer, three-time Olympic champion and one of the sport’s most successful athletes, with seven Olympic medals. His 15-year career included Olympic gold medals in the 100- and 200-metre freestyle in Sydney and a second consecutive 100-metre freestyle title in Athens. He later served as Chef de Mission for the Dutch team at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Today, van den Hoogenband works as an advisor, speaker and ambassador. Drawing on his experience in elite sport, he advises organisations and businesses on developing talent, supporting health and vitality, and building high-performance cultures. As manager of the Topsport Community, he connects leaders from sport, business and science.

As a keynote speaker, he shares stories and lessons about ambition, strategy, pressure, setbacks and performance, using historical footage, humour and audience interaction. He is also involved with organisations that use sport to inspire social action. The website features Watergevoel, a book about his life and sporting career, available to order.