The Netherlands Antilles was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The country consisted of several island territories located in the Caribbean Sea. The islands were also informally known as the Dutch Antilles. The country came into being in 1954 as the autonomous successor of the Dutch colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. The Antilles were dissolved in 2010. The Dutch colony of Surinam, although it was relatively close by on the continent of South America, did not become part of the Netherlands Antilles but became a separate autonomous country in 1954. All the island territories that belonged to the Netherlands Antilles remain part of the kingdom today, although the legal status of each differs. As a group they are still commonly called the Dutch Caribbean, regardless of their legal status. People from this former territory continue to be called Antilleans in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands Antilles competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004, sending track athletes Churandy Martina and Geronimo Goeloe and equestrian athlete Eddy Stibbe. The 2004 Games were the Netherlands Antilles' twelfth appearance in the Summer Olympics; they first competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. Before the 2004 games, the Netherlands Antilles had won one medal, a silver in sailing at the 1988 Summer Olympics, by Jan Boersma. There were no Dutch Antillean medalists at the Athens Olympics, although Martina advanced to the quarterfinal round in his event. The Dutch Antillean flagbearer at the ceremonies was Churandy Martina.
Aruba sent a delegation to compete at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece from 13 to 29 August 2004. The delegation's participation in the Athens Olympics marked Aruba's fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics since the Dutch colony's debut at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Four athletes competed across three sports. None of the track or swimming athletes advanced past the first round in their events, and as of Athens, no Arubans had medaled in any events. Roshendra Vrolijk bore Aruba's flag at the ceremonies.
The individual eventing event, part of the equestrian program at the 2004 Summer Olympics, was held from 15 to 18 August 2004 in the Olympic Equestrian Centre on the outskirts of Markopoulo in the Attica region of Greece. Like all other equestrian events, the eventing competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division.
Theodora Elisabeth Gerarda "Anky" van Grunsven is a Dutch dressage champion who is the only rider to record three successive Olympic wins in the same event. Along with her Olympic successes, she has won numerous medals at the World Equestrian Games (WEG), and is the only rider to have competed at every WEG since they began in 1990. Between 1990 and 2006, she competed at the Games in dressage, but in 2010 she was named as part of the Dutch reining team, marking a major change in discipline.
The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are currently ranked as the best team in the WBSC Europe, and the team is also ranked seventh in the WBSC World Rankings.
Churandy Thomas Martina is a Dutch sprinter. He originally placed second in the 200 metres at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but was later disqualified due to a lane violation. Martina secured four and two individual top-five finishes at the Summer Olympics and World Athletics Championships respectively. He was the 100 metres 2007 Pan American Games champion representing the Netherlands Antilles and claimed three individual titles at the Central American and Caribbean Games. He won gold medals in the 200 m and 100 m at the 2012 and 2016 European Athletics Championships respectively.
Sint Maarten is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of 34 km2 (13 sq mi), it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northern 56% of the island constitutes the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin. Sint Maarten's capital is Philipsburg. Collectively, Sint Maarten and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean.
Jozeph Johannes Gerardus Marinus "Jos" Lansink is an equestrian from the Netherlands, currently representing Belgium, who competes in the sport of show jumping.
The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.
The Netherlands first sent athletes to the Olympic Games in 1900, and has participated in almost all Games since then with the exception of 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis. The Netherlands boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne as a protest against the Soviet invasion in Hungary just a few weeks before the beginning of the Games.
Marc Houtzager is a Dutch equestrian whose specialty is show jumping.
The Netherlands competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. Dutch athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since their official debut in 1908, with the exception of the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, which the Netherlands boycotted because of the Soviet invasion of Hungary. The Netherlands National Olympic Committee sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games since 1988. A total of 175 athletes, 95 men and 80 women, competed in 18 sports.
Gestion Bonfire, or Bonfire for short, was an Oldenburg gelding that competed in dressage with Dutch rider Anky van Grunsven. Between 1991 and 2000, the pair competed in multiple national and international championships, including three Olympic Games and two World Equestrian Games. They won one gold medal and four silver medals at the Olympics and one gold and three silvers at the World Equestrian Games. Although known for having a hot temperament, Bonfire mellowed as he aged, becoming one of Van Grunsven's best horses – until she found his replacement, Salinero, she did not think she would ever find a horse to match Bonfire's talent. A statue of Bonfire stands in Van Grunsven's home town of Erp.
Ashley Holzer is a Canadian-born equestrian specializing in dressage, who has been representing the United States since 2017. She was born in Toronto, the daughter of Moreen and Ian Nicoll, and is married to Charles Holzer. Representing Canada, she won a bronze medal in team dressage at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, together with teammates Cynthia Neale-Ishoy, Eva Pracht and Gina Smith. She also competed at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
Rob Groener is a former Dutch football manager and player who is currently a players' agent.
Taizo Sugitani is a Japanese Olympic show jumping rider. Representing Japan, he competed at six consecutive Summer Olympics. He placed 11th in team jumping in 2000. Meanwhile, his current best individual Olympic placement is 15th place from Athens in 2004.
Stibbe is a German surname. It is a habitational surname named for a settlement in West Prussia. In the Netherlands, there were 128 people with the surname Stibbe as of 2007, up from 116 in 1947. The 2010 United States census found 255 people with the surname Stibbe, ranking it the 75,564th-most-common surname in the country. This represented a decrease from 262 people (69,854th-most-common) in the 2000 census. In both censuses, more than 95% of the bearers of the surname identified as non-Hispanic white.
Netherlands competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021. This was their sixteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Paralympics since 1960.
Sjerstin de Vries-Vermeulen is a Dutch former swimmer and equestrian, who competed at four Paralympic Games. She won five swimming medals at the 1988 Summer Paralympics, and won equestrian medals at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Paralympics in the mixed team dressage event.
