About is the KNSB?
The KNSB (Koninklijke Nederlandsche Schaatsenrijders Bond) was founded in 1882, making it one of the oldest sports federations in the world. For more than 140 years, it has been the home of Dutch skating.
In the Netherlands, skating isn't just a sport. It's part of the culture, born on frozen canals and polders in a country shaped by water. Today the KNSB oversees long track, short track, marathon skating, figure skating and inline skating from local clubs and youth talent all the way to the Olympic podium.
That combination of grassroots and elite is what makes the federation unique: generations of Dutch kids grow up on skates, and the best of them go on to race against the world. 
A history written in gold
The Netherlands is one fo the most successful nation in the history of Olympic speed skating, and at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, Dutch skaters proved it again. The Netherlands finished third on the overall medal table with 20 medals, 10 of them gold, and every single one came from the ice.
Long track: 13 medals, the most of any country, continuing a legacy that spans generations.
Short track: This is where history was made. The Dutch short track team won 7 medals: 5 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze, the most golds of any nation. Before Milan, the Netherlands had won just 3 Olympic short track golds in its entire history.
The standout moments:
- Jens van 't Wout won gold in the 1000m and 1500m, bronze in the 500m, and gold in the men's 5000m relay
- Xandra Velzeboer took a golden double in the women's 500m and 1000m
- Melle van 't Wout won silver in the 500m, standing on the podium next to his brother Jens
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The men's relay team won the Netherlands' first-ever Olympic medal in the event, and made it gold
Xandra Velzeboer & Jens van 't Wout
The collection: designed by water, built for movement
As official apparel supplier, 361° has created a new collection for the Dutch skating team. Every detail tells the story of where Dutch skating comes from, and where it's going.
Where Dutch skating begins. To design for the Dutch team, we went back to where their story starts: water. It shapes the Netherlands' landscape, its horizon and its identity. Long before there were Olympic ovals, there were frozen canals, and that connection between water and ice became the starting point of the collection.
Driven by movement. Water is never still, and neither is skating. The collection's signature graphic is built from flowing lines and layered waves, translating the constant movement of Dutch waters into a visual language of speed and direction.
The Dutch horizon. Where water meets sky, color starts to flow. Inspired by the Dutch horizon, orange, red, white and blue merge into one continuous expression of national identity, instead of sitting side by side as separate blocks.
What's next?
This is just the start. Over the coming season, we'll take you behind the scenes with the Dutch team: the training, the people and the stories that don't fit on a results sheet.
