Nearly 1.5 million Americans play field hockey every year. The sport is a phenomenon in Europe and has roughly 2.2 billion fans globally. The history of the sport can be traced back to ancient times, when Egyptian, Persian, Greek, and East Asian cultures participated in similar sports. The modern version of field hockey took shape at public schools in England during the 19th century. The sport arrived on the national stage at the 1908 Olympics and has been a consistent presence at the Summer Games since 1928.
Field hockey made its Olympic debut at the 1908 Olympics in London, the home of field hockey. Great Britain fielded teams representing England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. These teams competed with international squads from France and Germany. The single-elimination tournament culminated with an 8-1 England victory over Ireland, with Scotland claiming the bronze medal. Field hockey was not present at the 1912 Olympics but was contested again at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp. Great Britain won the gold medal, though only four teams competed.
After being dropped before the 1924 Olympics in Paris, field hockey returned to the Games in 1928. It has remained a core sport in the Olympic program for a century. Great Britain did not field a team, resulting in the first field hockey competition won by a non-British team. India defeated the Netherlands in the gold medal game, while Germany took home the bronze.
India quickly established itself as a dominant nation for field hockey. The men’s team from India won five consecutive gold medals, earned a silver medal in 1960 after a loss to Pakistan, and then defeated Pakistan in the gold medal game at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics for a sixth gold in seven Olympics. The Netherlands, Great Britain, Pakistan, and Germany all performed well at these games. The United States earned its only men’s field hockey medal, a bronze, in 1932 during the Los Angeles Olympics. Between 1964 and 1976, Australia and New Zealand emerged as major field hockey nations.
The Olympic program changed in 1980 with the introduction of the women’s field hockey tournament ahead of the Moscow Olympics. The Soviet Union women's national team defeated India to win the bronze medal, while Zimbabwe earned the event's first-ever gold medal by defeating Czechoslovakia. The 1984 Olympics saw a completely different podium for the women, with Netherlands and West Germany taking gold and silver and the US women claiming bronze over Australia, America's only medal in the event.
More recently, the Netherlands women's team has come to dominate the tournament, winning bronze in 1996 and 2000, silver in 2004 and 2016, and gold in 2008, 2012, 2020, and 2024. Argentina has won three silvers and three bronzes during the same period. On the men's side, recent Olympic champions have been more diverse, though Germany and Australia are consistent medalists.
Ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, India controls the men's medal table, with eight golds and 13 total podium finishes. The Netherlands has 10 top-three finishes, the only other country with double-digit podium placements, and is one of four nations with three golds. On the women's side, the Netherlands owns five gold medals to Australia's three and 10 medals overall, besting Argentina's six.
