Olympic Field Hockey

Field hockey was first contested at the Summer Olympics in 1908.International Olympic Committee: Field Hockey History Medal sets are awarded to the top men's and women's teams.Official Site of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Field Hockey

Field hockey was introduced to the Summer Olympics in 1908. It has been held at each Summer Olympics since, with the exception of the 1912 and 1924 games.NBC Olympics: Field Hockey - Men's Medalists Women's field hockey was introduced at the 1980 Summer Games.International Olympic Committee: Field Hockey History

The field hockey events at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held at the Olympic Green Hockey Field from August 10 to August 23, 2008.Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Time and Venue The men's and women's events each featured 192 athletes (12 teams with 16 players each).Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Hockey In the men's event, Germany won the gold medal, while Spain and Australia won silver and bronze respectively. The Netherlands won the gold medal in the women's tournament. The host nation of China won the silver medal and Argentina won the bronze medal.NBC Olympics: Field Hockey - 2008 Medals Standings By Nation

For both men's and women's games, 12 teams are divided into two groups for the preliminary round. The top two teams in each group after the preliminary round move on to the semi-final round. The top two teams after the semi-final round compete for the gold and silver medals; the teams that lost the semi-finals compete for the bronze.Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: Competition Format