Netherlands Antilles at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Last updated

Netherlands Antilles at the
2008 Summer Olympics
Flag of the Netherlands Antilles (1986-2010).svg
IOC code AHO
NOC Nederlands Antilliaans Olympisch Comité
Website www.sports.an  (in English)
in Beijing
Competitors3 in 3 sports
Flag bearer Churandy Martina
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
Olympic flag.svg  Independent Olympic Athletes (2012)
Flag of Aruba.svg  Aruba (2016–)
Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands (2016–)

A delegation from the Netherlands Antilles competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. It was the fifteenth and final appearance of the Netherlands Antilles at the Summer Olympics, as the territory was dissolved before the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, during which the IOC decided that Dutch Antillean athletes would participate independently under the Olympic flag.

Contents

The Netherlands Antilles' delegation was composed of three athletes participating in three different sports: Rodion Davelaar in swimming, Philip Elhage in shooting, and Churandy Martina in track and field. Neither Davelaar or Elhage continued past the qualification rounds, but Martina reached the finals for the 100m and 200m dashes. Martina scored fourth place in the 100m dash and second place in the 200m dash (the latter behind Usain Bolt), but was disqualified after a controversial American-led protest.

Background

The appearance of the Netherlands Antilles at the Beijing Summer Olympics marked its thirteenth and final appearance. [1] The Netherlands Antilles had consistently appeared at the Summer Olympics since the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, excluding two Olympics that had been boycotted due to Soviet incursions in other countries. [2] Churandy Martina was the flagbearer for the Netherlands Antilles at the closing and opening ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Olympics. [1]

Issues regarding debt and revenue-sharing within the Netherlands Antilles eventually led to the dissolution of the territory and its division as constituent islands Curaçao and Sint Maarten claimed a status of autonomy similar to that of Aruba, while the islands Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius were absorbed directly into the Netherlands. [3] Thus, the 2008 Summer Olympics served as the final Olympic Games in which the Netherlands Antilles participated as a territory. The future of the Dutch Antillean athletes to participate in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London were cast into doubt as a result. As residents of the Netherlands Antilles hold Dutch passports, IAAF General Secretary Pierre Weiss remarked all former Dutch Antillean athletes should immediately become eligible to represent the Netherlands in the Netherlands Antilles' stead. [2] Ultimately, however, the IOC decided in its 123rd session upon three items: that former Dutch Antillean athletes would compete independently under the Olympic flag; that recognition for the Netherlands Antilles' Olympic Committee was to be withdrawn; and that a temporary administrative structure would serve in the Dutch Antillean NOC's place until after the 2012 London games, directly supervised and supported by the IOC. [4]

Athletics

Churandy Martina was the only Dutch Antillean to participate in track and field in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He participated in two events: The 100m dash and the 200m dash. [5]

100 m dash

On 14 August, Martina completed round one of qualifications for the 100m dash at 10.35 seconds. This placed Martina at first in his heat (Heat 10). He ranked twenty-seventh in the round, tying with Walter Dix from the United States and Andrew Hinds from Barbados. In round two on 14 August, Martina ran the 100m dash in 9.99 seconds, tying for second with Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago, and falling behind Usain Bolt of Jamaica by 0.07 seconds. Martina advanced because of his score, and was first in his heat on 15 August, running 9.99 seconds. Churandy Martina advanced to semifinals and ran the 100m dash in 9.94 seconds, scoring third in his heat (behind Thompson and Jamaica's Asafa Powell) and fourth overall (also behind Bolt). He also ranked fourth in the finals, falling 0.02 seconds short of bronze medalist Walter Dix's time. Consequently, he did not medal in the event. [6]

200 m dash

Martina ranked third in his heat in the 17 August qualifications for the 200m dash, finishing the event in 20.78 seconds and falling behind Azerbaijan's Ramil Guliyev and Nigeria's Obinna Metu. Overall, Martina ranked in twenty-fourth place, but advanced. During round two of qualifications on 17 August, Martina ran the 200m dash in 20.42 seconds, second place in the heat before Antigua and Barbuda's Brendan Christian. In round two, Martina ranked tenth place, tying with the United States' Shawn Crawford. Martina ran the 200m in 20.11 seconds during semifinals, ranking first in his heat and second overall behind Usain Bolt. He then advanced to the finals round. [7]

Martina's participation in the 200m finals round was controversial. Martina came in second place to Usain Bolt, completing the event in 19.82 seconds over Usain Bolt's world-record breaking performance of 19.30 seconds. However, when American would-be bronze medalist Wallace Spearmon was disqualified for running outside of his lane, the American coaches reviewed video records of the race and found that Martina had done the same. The United States filed a protest against the Netherlands Antilles. The Dutch Antillean Olympic committee argued that the challenge was invalid, having been filed after the 30-minute post-race deadline, but Martina was disqualified from receiving the silver medal anyway. [8] Shawn Crawford of the United States, who originally finished the race in fourth place, was given the silver medal, and Walter Dix was given the bronze medal in place of Spearmon. [8]

Shortly after the 2008 Olympics, Crawford competed against Martina again in a meet in Zurich, Switzerland. At a hotel during the course of the meet, Crawford left the silver medal for Martina, believing that Martina deserved the medal more than he. [8]

Key
  • Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
  • Q = Qualified for the next round
  • q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
  • NR = National record
  • N/A = Round not applicable for the event
  • Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
Men
AthleteEventHeatQuarterfinalSemifinalFinal
ResultRankResultRankResultRankResultRank
Churandy Martina 100 m 10.351 Q9.991 Q9.943 Q9.93 NR 4
200 m 20.783 Q20.422 Q20.11 NR 1 QDSQ

Shooting

Philip Elhage was the only Dutch Antillean to participate in shooting events at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He participated in the 10m air pistol. During 9 August, the 10m air pistol event was held in Beijing, with forty-nine competitors. Elhage scored 566.0, ranking forty-fifth. Elhage scored the same as Yusuf Dikec from Turkey. Overall, Elhage's score fell 122.2 short of Pang Wei of China, who won the gold medal in the event. [9]

Men
AthleteEventQualificationFinal
PointsRankPointsRank
Philip Elhage 10 m air pistol 56646Did not advance

Swimming

Rodion Davelaar was the only Dutch Antillean athlete to participate in swimming in the 2008 Summer Olympics. He participated in the 50m freestyle. He was the recipient of a 2008 IOC Olympic Scholarship, which provided Davelaar with training facilities, a specialized coach and insurance. Additionally, the Scholarship covered costs for lodging, checkups, and Davelaar's entry for and participation in qualification competitions for the 2008 Olympics. [10]

During the 14 August preliminaries, Davelaar swam the 50m freestyle in 24.21 seconds. He ranked second in Heat 6, falling behind Yellow Yei Yah of Nigeria by 0.21 seconds. Overall, Davelaar ranked fifty-seventh out of ninety-seven swimmers. Davelaar's time was 2.75 seconds slower than French swimmer Amaury Leveaux during his performance in the 14 August preliminaries, who ranked first and set an Olympic record in the preliminary session. [11] Davelaar did not advance past the 14 August preliminaries. [11]

Men
AthleteEventHeatSemifinalFinal
TimeRankTimeRankTimeRank
Rodion Davelaar 50 m freestyle 24.2157Did not advance

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands Antilles at the 2004 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Bailey</span> Antiguan sprinter

Daniel Bakka Everton Bailey is a sprinter from Antigua and Barbuda who specializes in the 100m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Churandy Martina</span> Dutch sprinter (born 1984)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristof Beyens</span> Belgian sprinter

Kristof Beyens is a Belgian sprint athlete, who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres. His personal best time over 200 metres is 20.44 s, achieved in Osaka during the World Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres</span>

The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 2008 Olympic Games took place on 15 and 16 August at the Beijing National Stadium. 80 athletes from 64 nations competed. Each nation was limited to 3 athletes per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The final was won by Jamaican Usain Bolt in a world record time of 9.69 seconds. It was Jamaica's first title in the event, and first medal in the event since 1976. Jamaica became the first country to join the men's 100 metre winners since Trinidad and Tobago, also in 1976; Richard Thompson won the country's fourth overall medal in the event with his silver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands Antilles at the Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

The Netherlands Antilles participated at the Olympic Games from 1952 until 2008. As a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, it supported the Netherlands' boycott of the 1956 Games and also joined the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. The Netherlands Antilles participated in the Winter Olympic Games twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanuatu at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Vanuatu competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. A total of three Vanuatuan athletes competed in two sports. Moses Kamut and Elis Lapenmal competed in, respectively, the men's and women's 100m sprints, and Priscilla Tommy competed in women's singles table tennis after being selected by the IOC's Tripartite Commission. Tommy's appearance in particular was Vanuatu's debut into table tennis. Tommy was also the country's flagbearer during the opening ceremony. The Vanuatuan delegation to Beijing included the country's head of state and prime minister, but only included Elis Lapenmal; the other two athletes did not accompany the delegation and arrived in China at different times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahamas at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

The Bahamas sent a delegation of athletes to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics, which were held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from 8 to 24 August 2008. Its Beijing appearance marked its fourteenth time at the Olympics since its début at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. The delegation included 25 athletes across four sports and nineteen distinct events. Its athletes advanced to semifinals in eight events and finals in five events, medaling in two of them. The Bahamian delegation was one of the largest sent between its début and 2008. The country's flag bearer was Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaica at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Jamaica sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics, held in Beijing, China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. This was, by far, Jamaica's best showing at the Summer Olympics; it was the nation's largest delegation yet, and its athletes nearly doubled its total gold medal count in addition to breaking the nation's record for number of medals earned in a single games. Jamaica's appearance at Beijing was its fifteenth consecutive appearance and appearance as an independent nation, although it had previously participated in four other games as a British colony and as part of the West Indies Federation. In the 29 events that included Jamaican athletes, there were 26 cases in which a Jamaican athlete or relay progressed to a final round. Usain Bolt won three of Jamaica's six gold medals at Beijing, breaking an Olympic and world record in all three of the events in which he participated. Shelly-Ann Fraser led an unprecedented Jamaican sweep of the medals in the Women's 100 m. Female sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown carried Jamaica's flag at the ceremonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antigua and Barbuda at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Antigua and Barbuda competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, submitting a delegation that included athletes Daniel Bailey, Brendan Christian, James Grayman, and Sonia Williams in track and field events, and Kareem Valentine in swimming. Antigua and Barbuda's appearance in Beijing marked its eighth appearance at the Summer Olympics since the nation's debut at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montréal, Canada. There were no medalists from Antigua and Barbuda in 2008, although Bailey reached the quarterfinals and Christian the semifinals of their respective events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbados at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Barbados sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The island nation made its tenth appearance as an independent nation upon its arrival in Beijing. Eight athletes across three sports and ten events represented Barbados, marking the smallest delegation in its history up to the Beijing Games. Its runners and swimmers advanced past the first rounds in their events in four of their nine events, although none advanced to their events' final rounds or medaled. The nation's flagbearer during the Beijing Games was swimmer Bradley Ally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cayman Islands at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

The Cayman Islands sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The delegation included fifteen people; of the delegation, four athletes participated under the Caymanian flag. In the track and field events was Ronald Forbes, who also served as the Cayman Islands' flag-bearer during the Opening Ceremony and reached quarterfinals in the 110m hurdles, and Cydonie Mothersille, who reached finals and ranked eighth in the 200m dash. Brothers Shaune and Brett Fraser, both swimmers, participated in the 100 and 200m freestyle and in the 200m backstroke, respectively. The Cayman Islands' appearance at the Beijing Olympics marked its ninth appearance since its debut at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. The Cayman Islands, up to and including Beijing, have yet to medal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Kitts and Nevis at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

The Saint Kitts and Nevis National Olympic Committee sent four athletes to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. All four participated in the track and field competitions across four different events. Three women and one man comprised the Kittitian delegation. Williams and Ponteen did not advance past Qualifications in their events; Hodge reached quarterfinals in both the 100m and 200m sprints; and Collins, who participated in two events, reached the Semifinal round in the 100m sprint, and ranked sixth in the finals in the 200m sprint. Saint Kitts and Nevis did not win any medals during the Beijing Olympics. The flag bearer for the team at the opening ceremony was first-time Olympian Virgil Hodge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suriname at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Suriname sent a delegation of four people to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China: two athletes (Jurgen Themen and Kirsten Nieuwendam and two swimmers who participated in four distinct events. The appearance of Suriname at Beijing marked its tenth Olympic appearance, which included every Olympic games since the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and excluded the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Its four athletes did not advance past the first round in each of their events. The Surinamese flag bearer in Beijing was not an athlete, but Anthony Nesty, the only medalist in Surinamese history and the nation's Olympic swimming coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinidad and Tobago at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Trinidad and Tobago sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Its participation in the Beijing games marked its eighteenth Olympic appearance and fifteenth Summer Olympic appearance since its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, excluding its joint participation with Jamaica and Barbados in 1960 as the West Indies Federation. With 28 athletes, more Trinidadians had competed at the Olympics than in any other single Olympic Games in its history before Beijing. Athletes representing Trinidad and Tobago advanced past the preliminary or qualification rounds in twelve events and reached the final rounds in four of those events. Of those four events, silver medals were won in the men's 100 meters and in the men's 4x100 meters relay. The latter was upgraded to gold due to one member of the quartet that crossed the line first, Nesta Carter, testing positive for a banned substance, resulting in their disqualification. The nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony that year was swimmer and Athens medalist George Bovell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Chad sent a delegation of two athletes to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China: Moumi Sébergué, who competed in the men's 100 meters, and Hinikissia Albertine Ndikert, who competed in the women's 100 meters and also bore the Chadian flag during ceremonies. The appearance of this delegation marked the tenth appearance of Chad at the Summer Olympics, the first been in 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and its seventh appearance since its Olympic hiatus between 1976 and 1980. Both Sébergué and Ndikert ranked seventh in their respective heats and did not advance past the qualification round. As of the end of the 2012 London Olympics, there have been no medalists from Chad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres</span> Olympic athletics event

The men's 200 metres at the 2008 Summer Olympics took place on 18–20 August at the Beijing National Stadium. There were 63 competitors from 53 nations. Jamaican Usain Bolt set a new world record of 19.30 seconds in the final, and won by the largest margin of victory in an Olympic 200 metres final. It was Jamaica's first victory in the event since 1976 and second overall, matching Canada and Italy for second-most. The apparent silver and bronze medalists, Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles and Wallace Spearmon of the United States, were both disqualified. Those medals went to Americans Shawn Crawford and Walter Dix, who had been fourth and fifth across the finish line; Crawford gave his silver medal to Martina afterward. Crawford was the 10th man to win two medals in the 200 metres, and the third for whom those medals were gold and silver; nobody had yet won two gold medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres</span>

The men's 100 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 4–5 August 2012. Seventy-four athletes from 61 nations competed. Each nation was limited to 3 athletes per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The competition comprised four rounds: a preliminary round for entrants without the minimum qualifying standard, a heats round, followed by three semi-finals of eight athletes each, which then reduced to eight athletes for the final.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metres</span> Olympic athletics event

The men's 200 metres competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom was held at the Olympic Stadium on 7–9 August. There were 54 competitors from 40 nations. The event was won by Usain Bolt of Jamaica, the first man to repeat as champion in the 200 metres. His teammates Yohan Blake (silver) and Warren Weir (bronze) completed the medal sweep; it was the seventh sweep in the men's 200 metres and the first by a nation other than the United States. Bolt's gold medal was Jamaica's third in the event, moving out of a tie with Canada and Italy for second-most overall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres</span>

The men's 100 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place between 13–14 August at the Olympic Stadium. 84 athletes from 57 nations competed.

References

  1. 1 2 "Netherlands Antilles". Sports Reference. Sports Reference LLC. 2008. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  2. 1 2 Tom Degun (20 December 2010). "Netherlands Antilles participation at London 2012 in doubt". Inside the Games. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  3. Pascal Fletcher (10 October 2010). "Dutch Antilles dissolves as two new countries created". Reuters . Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  4. "Curtain comes down on 123rd IOC Session". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. 9 July 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  5. "Churandy Martina". ESPN – Beijing 2008. ESPN. 2008. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  6. "2008 Summer Olympics Results – Track and Field (Men's 100m Results)". ESPN – Beijing 2008. ESPN. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  7. "2008 Summer Olympics Results – Track and Field (Men's 200m Results)". ESPN – Beijing 2008. ESPN. 2008. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 "Martina's bid to reclaim silver rejected". ESPN. Associated Press. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  9. "2008 Summer Olympic Results – Shooting". ESPN – Beijing 2008. ESPN. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  10. "Olympic Scholarships for Athletes "Beijing 2008" – Results" (PDF). Olympic Solidarity Commission. International Olympic Committee. 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  11. 1 2 "2008 Summer Olympics Results – Swimming (Men's 50m Freestyle Results)". ESPN – Beijing 2008. ESPN. 2008. Archived from the original on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2011.