Netherlands Antilles at the Olympics

Netherlands Antilles at the Olympics
Flag of the Netherlands Antilles
IOC code	AHO
NOC	Nederlands Antilliaans Olympisch Comité
Website	www.sports.an (in English)
Medals Ranked 134th	Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze 0 Total 1
Summer appearances
1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008
Winter appearances
1988 1992
Other related appearances
Independent Olympic Athletes (2012)  Aruba (2016–)  Netherlands (2016–)

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 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. At the 2012 Olympics, participants from the five islands competed as independent athletes under the Olympic flag.

History

Consisting entities

• Aruba (until 1986)
• Curaçao
• Sint Maarten
• Bonaire
• Sint Eustatius
• Saba

The Netherlands Antilles was established on 15 December 1954 from the former Dutch Colony of Curaçao and Dependencies. However, the Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee was founded earlier, on 23 March 1931. It joined the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization in 1938 and the Pan American Sports Organization in 1951. Recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1950, the Netherlands Antilles debuted at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki two years later.

Aruba left the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 to become a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Since then, their athletes have competed separately under their own Olympic banner. The Netherlands Antilles first competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, without notable success. A similar outcome followed at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville.

After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on 10 October 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. In 2016, athletes from these five islands will have the choice to compete either with the Netherlands Olympic team or Aruba's.

All the above are collectively called "Dutch Caribbean".

Flags

• 
  Six-star flag of the Netherlands Antilles (until 1985). The six stars represents the six islands of the Netherlands Antilles.
• 
  Five-star flag of the Netherlands Antilles (since 1986 until dissolution). Because Aruba separated from the Netherlands Antilles, only five stars are left on the flag.

Three participants from the five islands of the former Netherlands Antilles can compete as independent athletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics. They used the Olympic Flag.

Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles

Logo of the Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee

Following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, the Netherlands Antilles Olympic Committee was no longer recognised as a National Olympic Committee. At the 2012 Olympics, participants from the five islands competed as independent athletes under the Olympic flag. Three athletes from the former Netherlands Antilles participated as part of the team of Independent Athletes: Liemarvin Bonevacia in the men's athletics (400m), Philipine Van Aanholt in the women's sailing (laser radial class) and Reginald de Windt in the men's judo (81kg). All three are from Curaçao. Churandy Martina competed for the Netherlands. At the 2016 Olympics, Martina, Bonevacia, Hensley Paulina and Jean-Julien Rojer competed for the Netherlands while Van Aanholt competed for Aruba.

Participation

Timeline of participation

Date	Team
1900–1948	Netherlands (NED)
1952–1984		Netherlands Antilles (AHO)
1988–2008		Netherlands Antilles (AHO)	Aruba (ARU)
2012		as part of Netherlands /  Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA) (2012)
2014–	Netherlands (NED)

Overview of Olympic participation

See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

Netherlands Antilles at the Summer Olympics

Games	Athletes	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
1952 Helsinki	11	0	0	0	0	–
1956 Melbourne	did not participate
1960 Rome	5	0	0	0	0	–
1964 Tokyo	4	0	0	0	0	–
1968 Mexico City	5	0	0	0	0	–
1972 Munich	2	0	0	0	0	–
1976 Montreal	4	0	0	0	0	–
1980 Moscow	did not participate
1984 Los Angeles	8	0	0	0	0	–
1988 Seoul	3	0	1	0	1	36
1992 Barcelona	4	0	0	0	0	–
1996 Atlanta	6	0	0	0	0	–
2000 Sydney	7	0	0	0	0	–
2004 Athens	3	0	0	0	0	–
2008 Beijing	3	0	0	0	0	–
2012 London	as part of  Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA)
2016–present	as part of  Netherlands (NED)
Total		0	1	0	1	137

Netherlands Antilles at the Winter Olympics

Games	Athletes	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total	Rank
1952–1984	did not participate
1988 Calgary	2	0	0	0	0	–
1992 Albertville	2	0	0	0	0	–
1994–2010	did not participate
2014–present	as part of  Netherlands (NED)
Total		0	0	0	0	–

Calgary 1988

Main article: Netherlands Antilles at the 1988 Winter Olympics

At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, the Netherlands Antilles was represented by two male athletes. They competed in two of the thirteen sports included in the International Olympic Committee's program. Bart Carpentier Alting and Bart Drechsel participated in bobsleigh in the men's two-man event, finishing 29th. Carpentier Alting also competed in luge in the men's singles event, placing 36th – the lowest ranked among classified competitors.

Albertville 1992

Main article: Netherlands Antilles at the 1992 Winter Olympics

At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, Bart Carpentier Alting returned, joined by Dudley den Dulk in the men's two-man bobsleigh event. They placed 37th out of 46 teams.

This marked the Netherlands Antilles' final Winter Olympics appearance.

Flag bearers

Main article: List of flag bearers for the Netherlands Antilles at the Olympics

During the opening ceremony of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, bobsledder Bart Carpentier Alting served as the Netherlands Antilles' flag bearer. At the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, bobsledder Dudley den Dulk carried the flag.

Year and location	Flag bearer	Discipline
Calgary 1988	Bart Carpentier Alting	Bobsleigh
Albertville 1992	Dudley den Dulk	Bobsleigh

Statistics by discipline

The Netherlands Antilles competed in bobsleigh at both Winter Olympics, represented by three athletes: Bart Drechsel, Dudley den Dulk, and Bart Carpentier Alting (twice). Their best bobsleigh result was 29th place at the 1988 Winter Olympics. They entered luge once, with Carpentier Alting finishing 36th in Calgary in 1988.

Discipline	Event	Athlete	Placement
			Calgary 1988	Albertville 1992
Bobsleigh	Men's two-man	Bart Carpentier Alting	29th	–
		Bart Drechsel
		Bart Carpentier Alting	–	37th
		Dudley den Dulk
Luge	Men's singles	Bart Carpentier Alting	36th	–

Medals by sport

Sport	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Sailing	0	1	0	1
Totals (1 entries)	0	1	0	1

List of medalists

Jan Boersma was the only Netherlands Antillean athlete to win an Olympic medal, a silver medal in sailing in 1988. They nearly earned another silver in men's 200m in Beijing 2008. Churandy Martina finished second, behind Usain Bolt but was disqualified after an American protest due to his running outside of his lane during the race. Martina's disqualification was appealed but was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on March 6, 2009.

Medal	Name	Games	Sport	Event
Silver	Jan Boersma	1988 Seoul	Sailing	Men's Division II

See also

• Aruba at the Olympics
• Category:Olympic competitors for the Netherlands Antilles
• Tropical nations at the Winter Olympics

External links

• "Olympic Results". International Olympic Committee.
• "Netherlands Antilles". Olympedia.com.
• "Olympic Analytics/AHO". olympanalyt.com.