Netherlands Antilles at the Olympics
In 1952, Netherlands Antilles made its debut in the Summer Games by sending their national football team to compete in Helsinki, Finland. They ended up losing to Türkiye on the first round. In 1956, they participated in the boycott of the Summer Games as a form of protest to the invasion of Hungary by the Soviet Union and came back in 1960. They then competed at most Olympics since then until 2008 (joining the Olympic boycotts of 1956 and 1980).
In 1988, sailor Jan Boersma won the silver for Men's Lechner Sailboard in Seoul, South Korea thereby giving Netherlands Antilles' only Olympic medal.
In 2011, the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved, forming the territories of Curaçao and Sint-Maarten, which themselves are not eligible for inclusion into the Olympics as independent nations. Athletes from this region competed in 2012 as independent athletes, and from then on will participate as either part of Aruba or The Netherlands proper.
Athletes from the island of Aruba competed for Netherlands Antilles before competing as a separate territory after 1984.
The Netherlands Antilles also participated in the Winter Games twice. They made their debut in 1988 by sending Bart Carpentier Alting and Bart Drechsel for the two-man bobsleigh and Bart Carpentier Alting also participated in the Luge. Bart Carpentier Alting returned for the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France for the two-man bobsleigh but this time with Dudley Den Dulk.
Trivia
- The only athlete from Netherlands Antilles to win an Olympic medal was Jan Boersma, who won a silver medal in sailing in 1988.
Related Pages
- Netherlands Antilles at the Winter Olympics
- See also Aruba or The Netherlands
- About independent athletes at the Olympics.
- list of all countries that have participated at the Olympic Games.
- About sport in Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the Netherlands
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