- Gillian van den Berg
Gillian van den Berg (born
September 8 ,1971 inGouda ) is awaterpolo player of theNetherlands who represents the Dutch national team in international competitions. [http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/2/218032.shtml Athlete biography: Gillian van den Berg] , beijing2008.cn, ret: Aug 16, 2008]Van den Berg was part of the team that won the gold medal at the
1993 Women's European Water Polo Championship as well as the1993 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup . At the1994 World Aquatics Championships inRome they won the silver medal and at the1995 Women's European Water Polo Championship inVienna they won the bronze medal. InEmmen they won the gold medal at the1996 Women's Water Polo Olympic Year Tournament as the sport was not yet recognized as an Olympic sport for women by the IOC. The Dutch stayed successful in the following years winning gold at the1997 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup , bronze at the1997 Women's European Water Polo Championship inSevilla , silver at the1998 World Aquatics Championships in Perth, gold at the1999 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup inWinnipeg and silver at the1999 Women's European Water Polo Championship inPrato . All these results made them one of the favourites for the first ever women's Olympic tournament at the2000 Summer Olympics held inSydney . In a disappointing event they eventually finished in fourth position inAustralia . It was the start of a less successful period for the Dutch team and they got the fifth place at the2001 Women's European Water Polo Championship inBudapest , the 9th place at the2001 FINA Women's World Water Polo Championship inFukuoka and the sixth place at the2003 World Aquatics Championships inBarcelona .As of 2004, after the Dutch failed to qualify for the
2004 Summer Olympics inAthens Van den Berg did no longer play for the Dutch team until her return at the2007 World Aquatics Championships inMelbourne , where they finished in 9th position. They started a new campaign with a mix of experienced and talented players to work towards a new top team for the2012 Summer Olympics inLondon . The Dutch team finished in fifth place at the2008 Women's European Water Polo Championship inMalaga and they qualified for the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing . There they ended up winning the gold medal onAugust 21 , beating the United States 9-8 in the final.References
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