Background
The appearance of the Netherlands Antilles at the Beijing Olympics marked its thirteenth and final appearance. The Netherlands Antilles had consistently appeared at the Summer Olympics since the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, excluding two Olympic games that had been boycotted due to Soviet incursions in other countries. Churandy Martina was the flagbearer for the Netherlands Antilles at the closing and opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics.
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. Thus, the 2008 Summer Olympics served as the final Olympics 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. 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independently under the Olympic flag; that recognition for the Netherlands Antilles' Olympic Committee was to be withdrawn; and that a temporary administrative structure would serve in the Dutch Antillean NOC's place until after the 2012 London games, directly supervised and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.
Read more about this topic: Netherlands Antilles At The 2008 Summer Olympics
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