While studying medicine in Utrecht, Ben Binnendijk rowed for student rowing club Triton. Rowing as a bowman with Harry Kuntze, a chemistry student, Binnendijk entered the 1952 Dutch Olympic trials in both the coxless pairs and the double sculls. The duo won both events, although only their pairs achievement was deemed worthy of qualification. In Helsinki, the two won their heat, but were subsequently eliminated in the semi-finals and repêchage. Both rowers ended their rowing careers upon graduation. Binnendijk later became a surgeon, but also taught at Univeristy of Groningen. In 1973, he became a lecturer in traumatology, earning a professorship in 1979, through his retirement in 1992.