Daniëlle de Bruijn (born 13 February 1978 in Vlaardingen

Vlaardingen

Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...

) is a water polo

Water polo

Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...

 player of the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 who represents the Dutch national team

Netherlands women's national water polo team

The Netherlands women's national water polo team is the national team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was one of the leading teams in the world during the 1980s and 1990s. More recently they claimed the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics...

 in international competitions.

de Bruijn was part of the team that won the bronze medal at the 1997 Women's European Water Polo Championship

1997 Women's European Water Polo Championship

The 1997 Women's European Water Polo Championship was the seventh edition of the bi-annual event, organised by the Europe's governing body in aquatics, the Ligue Européenne de Natation...

 in Sevilla. They also won silver at the 1998 World Aquatics Championships

1998 World Aquatics Championships

The 1998 World Aquatics Championships or the 8th FINA World Swimming Championships were held in Perth, Western Australia, Australia between 8 January and 17 January 1998....

 in Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, gold at the 1999 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup

1999 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup

The 1999 FINA Women's Water Polo World Cup was the twelfth edition of the event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the International Swimming Federation . The event took place in Winnipeg, Canada from May 24 to May 29, 1999...

 in Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

 and silver at the 1999 Women's European Water Polo Championship

1999 Women's European Water Polo Championship

The 1999 Women's European Water Polo Championship was the eighth edition of the bi-annual event, organised by the Europe's governing body in aquatics, the Ligue Européenne de Natation...

 in Prato

Prato

Prato is a city and comune in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city is situated at the foot of Monte Retaia , the last peak in the Calvana chain. The lowest altitude in the comune is 32 m, near the Cascine di Tavola, and the highest is the peak of Monte Cantagrillo...

. All these results made them one of the favourites for the first ever women's Olympic tournament at the 2000 Summer Olympics

2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

 held in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, and they finished in fourth position in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It was the start of a less successful period for the Dutch team as they got the fifth place at the 2001 Women's European Water Polo Championship

2001 Women's European Water Polo Championship

The 2001 Women's European Water Polo Championship was the ninth edition of the bi-annual event, organised by the Europe's governing body in aquatics, the Ligue Européenne de Natation...

 in Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, the 9th place at the 2001 FINA Women's World Water Polo Championship

2001 FINA Women's World Water Polo Championship

The 2001 FINA Women's World Water Polo Championships was the fifth edition of the event, organised by the world's governing body in aquatics, the FINA. The tournament was held from July 18 to July 27, and incorporated in the 2001 World Aquatics Championships, held in Fukuoka, Japan...

 in Fukuoka

Fukuoka, Fukuoka

is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...

 and the sixth place at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships

2003 World Aquatics Championships

Barcelona, Spain was the host city of the X FINA World Aquatics Championships or the 10th FINA World Championships in Aquatics, which were held from July 12 until July 27, 2003....

 in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

.

After the team failed to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, de Bruijn retired her national career until her return at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships

2007 World Aquatics Championships

The 2007 World Aquatics Championships or the XII FINA World Championships were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007...

 in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, 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 the 2012 Summer Olympics

2012 Summer Olympics

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The Dutch team finished in fifth place at the 2008 Women's European Water Polo Championship

2008 Women's European Water Polo Championship

The 2008 Women's European Water Polo Championship was the twelve edition of the bi-annual event, organised by the Europe's governing body in aquatics, the Ligue Européenne de Natation...

 in Malaga

Málaga

Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...

 and they qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. There they ended up winning the gold medal on 21 August, beating the United States

United States women's national water polo team

The United States women's national water polo team represents the United States in international women's water polo competitions and friendly matches. It is one of the leading teams in the world since the late 1990s....

 9-8 in the final

Water polo at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament

The women's water polo tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from 11 August to 21 August at the Beijing's Ying Tung Pool....

. de Bruijn became the tournament's top scorer with 17 goals, including seven goals in the final.