Aruba at the 2004 Summer Olympics
| Aruba at the 2004 Summer Olympics |
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| IOC code | ARU | ||||||||
| NOC | Aruban Olympic Committee | ||||||||
| Website |
www |
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| in Athens | |||||||||
| Competitors | 4 in 3 sports | ||||||||
| Flag bearer | Roshendra Vrolijk | ||||||||
| Medals |
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| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
| Other related appearances | |||||||||
 Netherlands Antilles (1952–1984) |
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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 (three men and one woman) competed across three sports (Pierre de Windt in track and field, Davy Bisslik and Roshendra Vrolijk in swimming, and Isnardo Faro weightlifting). 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.
Aruba is a small island colony of 100,000 people that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and has been under Dutch control since the 1630s. The island lies in the southern Caribbean Sea just to north of Venezuela, and is near to the Dutch colonies of Curaçao and Bonaire. The colony originally was part of an autonomous union with those two islands in what was known as the Netherlands Antilles, but Aruba seceded from that union in 1986. The Netherlands continues to regulate all its foreign affairs. While the first Dutch Antilean delegation to the Olympics was sent during the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, the first uniquely Aruban delegation participated two years after the island's secession from the Netherlands Antilles at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Between then and the 2004 Athens Olympics, Aruba had sent a delegation to all five Summer Olympic games. The most substantial Aruban delegation was in 1988, when it included eight athletes. This delegation included more women and encompassed more sports than any Aruban delegation since then (including the Athens Olympics).
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