Gerard van den Bergh

International career Van den Bergh was at the 1900 Summer Olympics the winner of the boys 200 meter rifle event and is recognized by the Dutch Olympic Committee as an Olympic gold medalist. However, the event is not considered official by the IOC. Like Van den Bergh, there is an ongoing debate about four other Dutch sportspeople, if they can be considered an Olympic champion by the IOC. Proposals to gain recognition for these athletes including Van den Bergh are as of 2024 ongoing, with two Dutch cyclists receiving this recognition in 2024. In 2023 NOC*NSF paid attention to the achievement of Van den Bergh. The early results at the Games were disappointing; it was explained this was because there was every now and then a strong wind blowing over the shooting venue which the Dutch team was not familiar with. With the Dutch team, he became seventh in the free rifle 300 m three positions event, where he was the best of his team with 751 points.

Van den Bergh was a member of the national team for the in Hamburg, Germany. He scored standing 280 points and laying 332 points. He was selected as substitute for Dutch team for the 1910 World Shooting Championships in Loosduinen and competed in the practice match. In 1911, via a national competition at , Van den Burgh was selected for the in Rome, Italy. At these World Championships he won the silver medal in the 300 metre military rifle prone event. He finished 5th in the rifle competition, and sixth in the pistol competition. The next year he won the bronze medal in the 300 metre free rifle 3 positions team event at the in Biarritz, France.

Main national achievements In July 1908, ahead of the 1908 Summer Olympics, he won a main national competition in the 300 metres event. In June 1909 he competed with his club for the Jochems Cup, where Van den Bergh was the best lying shooter. In August 1909 he became the Dutch master sniper shooter at Ockenburgh. Van den Bergh was not able to win a medal at the 1911 national championships. In 1912 he was one of the main shooter at the General van Merlen competition in Haarlem that lasted 1.5 months. In July 1913 he became with Oranje-Nassau for the third time in a row Dutch national champion. Later that month, he was main prize winner of the Dutch annual match over 200 metres. In August 1913 he became the Dutch master pistol shooter at Ockenburgh. In May 1914 he won, with his club Oranje-Nassau, the Hague-Rotterdam Cup.

Shooting administration Van den Berg, as well as being a shooter, was also active as a shooting administrator at the national Dutch shooting associations. As of January 1914 he was secretary treasurer of the Neederlandsche Pistool en Revolververeeniging. In April 1916 Van den Berg became a member of the newly formed technical committee of the Koninklijke Vereeniging van Scherpschutters (Royal Shooting Association), and became the Dutch delegate to the Union Internationale de Tir.

After the international shooting federation was dissolved in 1916,

After being vice-president, Van den Bergh became in 1921 president of the Royal Association of Dutch Marksmen. He is credited for being a good leader and organizer. It has been said that he had “all good qualities” of his father who was before a beloved and honored president. An example, Van den Berg is credited for the successful shooting tournament that he organized next to the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam where shooting was not included and is regarded as a main moment in the 50-year history of the Royal Dutch Shooting Federation. For this tournament the neglected shooting facility had to be renovated. A few days after the tournament it was urged to include shooting again at the Olympics at the congres of the Union Internationale de Tir. It was decided to propose at the 27th IOC meeting in 1929 inclusion of shooting at the 1932 Olympics what eventually happened.

In 1924 and following years he also served as the team leader of the Dutch national shooting team at Olympic Games and World Championships. He was subsequently appointed honorary chairman of the Oranje-Nassau and honorary member of the Royal Dutch Shooting association. His resignation was regretted by the Dutch association as well as by foreign administrators of shooting associations.

After resigning as president, he remained a member of the international committee and team leader of the Dutch shooting team at Olympic Games and World Championships until the , the last world shooting championships before World War II.

Personal life and death Van den Bergh was born on 19 November 1882 in The Hague. He was the son of Solko van den Bergh, who won a bronze medal at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Gerard van den Berg married Theodora Stelzl in 1913. He was secretary of Grovestins Stichting (Grovestins Foundation) from 1917 until his death. He died on 22 October 1949 in The Hague at the age of 66 years old, survived by his wife and daughter.