Four swimmers, including one woman, represented the Netherlands in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. None of the swimmers advanced to an event final.
The Netherlands competed in the Olympic water polo tournament for the second time in 1920. A modified version of the Bergvall System was in use at the time. The Netherlands lost 2–1 to Belgium in the quarterfinals. Because Belgium eventually finished with the silver medal, the Dutch had a chance to play for the bronze. In the bronze medal quarterfinals, they defeated Czechoslovakia. They fell to Sweden in the bronze semifinals, however.
The Netherlands sent eight archers in its second Olympic archery appearance. The Dutch archers competed in a single event, the team moving bird at 28 metres. Facing off against a Belgian team and a French team, the Netherlands squad took the gold medal.
11 athletes represented the Netherlands in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in athletics. Paulen's seventh-place finish in the 800 metres was the country's best result in the sport to date.
Ten cyclists represented the Netherlands in 1920. It was the nation's second appearance in the sport. Peeters won the sprint event. Ikelaar took the bronze in the 50 kilometres, and added another bronze along with de Vreng in the tandem. The three medals were the first Olympic cycling medals for the Netherlands, and put the country in third place in the cycling leaderboard for the Games.
A single equestrian represented the Netherlands in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. Sirtema competed in the individual eventing competition, finishing in 20th place.
Ten fencers represented the Netherlands in 1920. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. The country's best results were in the sabre competitions. De Jong won the bronze medal in the individual event and two others reached the final; it was the only individual event in which the team had any finalists. The sabre team also captured a bronze medal.
The Netherlands competed in the Olympic football tournament for the third time, winning its third straight bronze medal. The team had a fairly easy win over Luxembourg in the first round before requiring extra time to defeat Sweden in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, the Netherlands lost to eventual gold-medalist Belgium. This relegated the Dutch team to the consolation tournament for silver; they received a bye into the consolation final when France turned out to have left the Olympics. In the match for silver and bronze, the Netherlands were defeated by Spain to finish in third place.
Twelve rowers represented the Netherlands in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. None of the three Dutch boats advanced to the finals.
Eight sailors represented the Netherlands in 1920. It was the nation's second appearance in the sport. The Dutch had their best possible result, with two gold medals and one silver. The two Dutch 12-footers were the only boats to contest that event, while the 6½ metre team defeated a French boat.
Fifteen shooters represented the Netherlands in 1920. It was the nation's fourth appearance in the sport. Klaas Jan Pen competed, but it is not known in which event.
The Netherlands competed in the Olympic tug of war tournament for the first time in 1920, the final appearance of the sport in the Olympics. The Bergvall System was used in 1920. The Dutch beat Italy in the semifinals to advance to the final against Great Britain. There they lost to the British, and had to continue in the silver medal rounds. The Netherlands received a bye into the silver medal finals, where they beat Belgium to take the silver.
Five weightlifters represented the Netherlands in 1920. It was the nation's debut in the sport. Ringelberg's fourth-place finish was the best of the year for the Dutch weightlifters.
Nine wrestlers, all in the Greco-Roman discipline, competed for the Netherlands in 1920. It was the nation's third appearance in the sport. The Dutch wrestlers won no medals, but came close in a few instances. The format turned out to be particularly unfortunate for Jan Sint, who advanced to the final in the light heavyweight but finished without a medal after being defeated by Johansson in the final and losing again in the silver medal semifinal. Jaap Sjouwerman advanced to the heavyweight semifinals, but did not get a chance to compete for silver or bronze after his semifinal loss to an opponent who did not win gold or silver.
