Netherlands at the 2004 Summer Olympics Netherlands at the 2004 Summer Olympics The Netherlands competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. Dutch athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic games since its official debut in 1908. Netherlands, however, boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, because of the Soviet invasion of Hungary. The Netherlands National Olympic Committee (, "NOC*NSF") sent a total of 210 athletes to the Games, 134 men and 76 women, to compete in 21 sports. Baseball, field hockey, and men's volleyball were the only team-based sports in which the Netherlands had its representation at these
Summer Olympic Games Eastern Bloc that did attend the 1984 Olympics. These games were perhaps the first games of a new era to make a profit. Although a boycott led by the Soviet Union depleted the field in certain sports, 140 National Olympic Committees took part, which was a record at the time. Again, without the participation of the Eastern European countries, the 1984 Games were dominated by their host country. The Games were also the first time mainland China (People's Republic) participated. According to British journalist Andrew Jennings, a KGB colonel stated that the agency's officers had posed as anti-doping authorities from