Olympic Games: History

The Athens 1896 Olympic Games, held April 6 to 15, was the first occurence of the modern Olympic Games.

The inaugural Games of the modern Olympics were attended by as many as 280 athletes, all male, from 12 countries. The athletes competed in 43 events covering athletics (track and field), cycling, swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting, wrestling, fencing, shooting, and tennis. 

Field hockey made its first Olympic appearance during the London 1908 Olympic Games with the men. Six teams entered the tournament: England, France, Germany, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England won the gold medal, Ireland the silver and Scotland and Wales were awarded bronze medals. All the medals were subsequently credited to Great Britain.

The U.S. Men's National Team made their first appearance as the host nation of the Los Angeles 1932 Olympic Games.

With only three teams in the tournament with India and Japan, the USA lost both their games and finished third for the bronze medal. 

The U.S. Men's National Team attended the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games.

In Pool A, USA was unable to secure a win, falling to Japan (5-1), India (7-0) and Hungary (3-1). In the classification round, they fell to Afghanistan (3-0) to finish in 11th.

The U.S. Men's National Team participated in the London 1948 Olympic Games.

In Group B, USA fell to Afghanistan (2-0), Great Britain (11-0) and Switzerland (3-1) to finish in 11th.

The U.S. Men's National Team competed in the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games.

In Group A, USA was defeated by Singapore (6-1), India (16-0) and Afghanistan (5-1). In the 9th to 12th place classification, they fell to Kenya (3-0), then Malaya (3-0) and tied Afghanistan (1-1) to finish 12th.

Women's field hockey was added to the Olympic program at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games. The U.S. Women's National Team did not compete following the boycott.

The United States hosted the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games, and both the U.S. men and women participated.

The men were in Group B and fell to Afghanistan (2-0), Great Britain (11-0) and Switzerland (3-1), to finish in 11th.

The six team women's tournament was a single round-robin. USA defeated Canada (4-1) and New Zealand (2-0), fell to Netherlands (2-1) and Australia (3-1) and tied Germany (1-1). Since Australia and USA finished with equal points, a shootout was contested to determine the third place winner. USA prevailed, besting Australia (10-5) to win the bronze medal.

The U.S. Women's National Team qualified for the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games after being selected based on FIH rankings.

In Pool B, they fell to the Netherlands (3-1) and Argentina (2-1) before tying Great Britain (2-2). In the 5th to 8th classification round, USA was topped by West Germany (2-1) and was defeated by Argentina (3-1) in overtime to claim 8th place.

The United States hosted the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, and both the men and women participated.

The men were in Pool A and were defeated by Pakistan (4-0), Argentina (5-2), India (4-0), Spain (7-1) and Germany (3-0). In the classification round, they fell to South Africa (3-0) before meeting Malaysia in the 11th/12th place game. USA was bested by Malaysia (4-1) to finish in 12th.

In the preliminary round, the women beat South Korea (3-2) and Spain (2-0), tied the Netherlands (1-1) and Germany (1-1), and fell to Great Britain (1-0), Argentina (2-1). They finished in fifth.

After missing two cycles, the U.S. Women's National Team placed first at the 2008 Hockey Olympic Qualifier to qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

In Pool B, they beat New Zealand (4-1), tied Argentina (2-2), Japan (1-1) and Great Britain (0-0), and lost to Germany (4-2). In the 7th/8th place match, they fell to Spain (3-2) in overtime.

The U.S. Women's National Team qualified for the London 2012 Olympic Games after defeating Argentina (4–2) in the Pan American Games final in Guadalajara, Mexico.

In Pool B, they topped Argentina (1-0) and fell to Germany (2-1), Australia (1-0), New Zealand (3-2) and South Africa (7-0). In the 11th/12th place game, they were defeated by Belgium (2-1).

The U.S. Women's National Team qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games after defeating Argentina (2-1) in the Pan American Games final in Toronto, Canada.

In Group B, they finished second after beating Argentina (2-1), Australia (2-1), Japan (6-1) and India (3-0), before falling to Great Britain (2-1). In the quarterfinals, USA was topped by Germany (2-1), leading them to their highest Olympic finish in recent history in fifth.

After missing out on qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the U.S. Women's National Team qualified after a historic run at the 2024 FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier in Ranchi, India.

The No. 15 United Eagles went into the event as one of the lowest ranked teams. In their first pool match they upset hosts, No. 6 India, (1-0) and then beat No. 19 Italy (2-0). They defeated No. 10 New Zealand (1-0) in their final pool game to secure a spot in the semifinals. Facing No. 9 Japan, USA knew they had to perform as the winner of this semifinal punched their ticket. After trailing, the United Eagles triumphantly rallied back with two goals in the fourth quarter to win 2-1 and qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Click here for more information.