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 (One Dutch rider competed in the 1956 equestrian events, held in Stockholm a few months before the rest of the Games).
Prior to the 1992 Olympics, the country name was "Holland" with the country code of "HOL". From 1992 onward, they have utilized the "Netherlands" and "NED", as an abbreviation of the Dutch name Nederland.
Following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010 (which was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), the Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee (NAOC) lost its Olympic license in July 2011. After the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, athletes from the Netherlands Antilles can choose to participate for the Netherlands or Aruba, which has a semi-independent status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At the 2012 Games, athletes from the Netherlands Antilles participated in as Independent Olympic Athletes under the IOC flag. However, some athletes had already expressed their wish to represent either the Netherlands or Aruba in London.
Hosted Games
The Netherlands has hosted the Games on one occasion.
The Netherlands Antilles participated at the Olympic Games from 1952 until 2008 as a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The National Olympic Committee for the Netherlands Antilles was created in 1931 and recognized by the International Olympic Committee from 1950 until 2011 upon the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles.
Aruba left the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 to become a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Between 1952 until 1984, Aruban athletes competed as part of the Netherlands Antilles. Since the Olympic Games in 1988, athletes from Aruba have competed separately under their own Olympic banner and has participated in each Summer Olympic Games since then.
After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba became part of the Netherlands as special municipalities of the Netherlands. Curaçao and Sint Maarten became separate constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At the 2012 Olympics, participants from the five islands competed as independent athletes under the Olympic flag. However, athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles who qualified for the 2012 Olympics were allowed to participate independently under the Olympic flag, in addition to the possibility of competing for the Netherlands (as for example Churandy Martina did) or Aruba (because they have Dutch nationality). Ultimately, three athletes from the Netherlands Antilles participated as Independent Olympic Athletes.
Netherlands at the Summer Olympics
*Purple border color indicates tournament was held in the Netherlands.
abNot counting gold medal in Men's coxed pair events at the 1900 Games, this medal was awarded to a Mixed team (ZZX). Hermanus Brockmann in coxed pairs rowing competition was the coxswain for the semifinals, but not for the finals. The name of the French boy the Dutch team employed as a coxswain for the final is unknown. The medal therefore was not awarded to the Netherlands, but to a Mixed team (ZZX).
External links
"Netherlands". International Olympic Committee. 4 October 2021.
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 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 Unified Team was the name used for the sports team of the former Soviet Union (except the Baltic states) at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville and the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. The IOC country code was EUN, after the French name, Équipe unifiée. The Unified Team was sometimes informally called the CIS Team, although Georgia did not join the CIS until 1993.
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.
The SSS islands, locally also known as the Windward Islands, is a collective term for the three territories of the Dutch Caribbean that are located within the Leeward Islands group of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. In order of population size, they are: Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. In some contexts, the term is also used to refer to the entire island of Saint Martin, alongside Sint Eustatius and Saba.
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.
A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games. They may nominate cities within their respective areas as candidates for future Olympic Games. NOCs also promote the development of athletes and the training of coaches and officials at a national level within their geographies.
The all-time medal table for all Olympic Games from 1896 to 2022, including Summer Olympic Games, Winter Olympic Games, and a combined total of both, is tabulated below. These Olympic medal counts do not include the 1906 Intercalated Games which are no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as official Games. The IOC itself does not publish all-time tables, and publishes unofficial tables only per single Games. This table was thus compiled by adding up single entries from the IOC database.
Panam Sports is an international organization which represents the current 41 National Olympic Committees of the American continent.
The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010.
Aruba first competed at the Olympic Games in 1988, and has participated in each Summer Olympic Games since then. Aruba has yet to win any Olympic medals.
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.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Netherlands Antilles:
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.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands, commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The realm is not a federation; it is a unitary monarchy with its largest subdivision, the eponymous Netherlands, predominantly located in Northwestern Europe and with several smaller island territories located in the Caribbean.
The Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee, generally abbreviated NAOC was a member of the IOC from 1950 to 2011. It constituted the National Olympic Committee of the dissolved country Netherlands Antilles which consisted of the islands Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The organization is a federation of 31 sports federations. So far only FINA, FIFA and CONCACAF recognize Curaçao as successor of Netherlands Antilles.
A Kingdom Act is an act of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which scope goes beyond the constituent country the Netherlands, and which is (also) effective in the other constituent countries Aruba, Curaçao and/or Sint Maarten. Kingdom Acts are used for specific areas of law set out in the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, or for those areas where countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands cooperate voluntarily.
The Dutch Caribbean are the New World territories, colonies, and countries of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea, mainly the northern and southwestern regions of the Lesser Antilles archipelago.
Four independent Olympic Athletes competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the United Kingdom. These were athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles, and from the newly formed state of South Sudan. This was the third time that athletes had competed as independent participants in the Olympics. None of the athletes won an Olympic medal.
Philipine van Aanholt is a female sailor from Curaçao, competing mainly in the Laser Radial class. She is a two-time Women World Champion in non-Olympic classes. In 2008 and 2009 she was chosen Curaçao's Youth Sports Women of the year. After the National Olympic Committee of the Netherlands Antilles lost its recognition by the International Olympic Committee following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, van Aanholt was allowed to participate in the 2012 Summer Olympics as an Independent Olympic Athlete. In 2016, she represented neighboring island Aruba at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She was Aruba's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2015 Pan American Games. In 2023, she won silver in the Sunfish class at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Athletes have competed as independent Olympians at the Olympic Games for various reasons, including political transition, international sanctions, suspensions of National Olympic Committees, and compassion. Independent athletes have come from North Macedonia, East Timor, South Sudan and Curaçao following geopolitical changes in the years before the Olympics, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a result of international sanctions, from India and Kuwait due to the suspensions of their National Olympic Committees, and from Russia for mass violations of anti-doping rules.
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