Countries banned from Olympics – Article on Culture Archive

The mega event of sports Olympics were full of sour, sweet and joy for sports personals. But there were the time when Olympic banned courtiers to participate. So here is the list of top eight times countries banned from Olympics. For this list, we’ll be looking at various Olympic games where a certain country or countries were banned from competing.

8. Central Powers
Central Powers, 1920 Summer Olympics. It turns out that starting a world war is a good way to find yourself ostracized from society. The 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium were a celebratory return to normalcy following the unending nightmare that was World War One. The 1916 games didn’t take place on account of the war, which finally concluded in November of 1918. Pain and resentment still lingered, and as a result, those that made up the Central Empire were not invited to compete in the Antwerp games.

Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire were all banned from the games as the Quadruple Alliance was deemed responsible for igniting the war. This battalion has been here for nearly a year, and they barely gained an inch. All right, because on the other side, they’re a bunch of Germans pointing machine guns at every square inch of this place. In fact, Germany was banned until 1928, so they hosted their own Olympics called the German Combat Games in response.

7. Afghanistan
Afghanistan, 2000 Summer Olympics. To mark the games of the new millennium, the Summer Olympics were taken to the southern hemisphere for the first time since 1956. Celebrating the 27th Olympiad of the modern era. 199 nations competed in 300 events. It would have been a nice round 200 if Afghanistan was included, but alas, that was not the case. The country was banned from Sydney, and they were the only member of the International Olympic Committee not to appear in the games. They were vehemently rejected over the Taliban’s totalitarianism, which ran from 1996 to 2001. They presided over a draconian fundamentalist state. Women were prevented from going to school, movies, and other forms of entertainment. The country oppressed women and forbade the playing of sports, so naturally, they were not invited to compete in the world’s biggest sporting event.

6. India
India, 2014 Winter Olympics. Back in 2012, the Indian Olympic Association was suspended by the International Olympic Committee due to corruption. Its Secretary General, Lalit Bhanot, was allegedly involved with the 2010 Commonwealth Games controversies. Investigations revealed that funds allotted to over a dozen projects had been diverted, amounting to more than 300 million euros. As a result, India was banned from competing under its flag at the Olympics.

Indian athletes were permitted to play in the 2014 Sochi Games, but they were forced to compete as Independent Olympic Participants. Three athletes competed at the games and flew under the Olympic flag during the opening ceremony. However, the IOA suspension was lifted in the middle of the games following the election of a new president of the Indian Olympic Association. The IOC lifted its suspension against India, meaning the country could now compete and its athletes could compete for the country. As such, the Indian athletes were permitted to compete under India, and one of the participants was even allowed to bear his country’s flag at the closing ceremony.

5. Kuwait
Kuwait, 2016 Summer Olympics. Rio 2016 was the first Olympics to be held in South America, and it saw the introduction of Kosovo and South Sudan. What it didn’t see was the inclusion of Kuwait. Kuwait was originally prohibited from competing in 2010 but was allowed to participate in the 2012 London Games. However, their relationship with the IOC collapsed due to political interference within the country’s sports organizations. Kuwait was banned from competing and did not appear at the 2016 Rio Games. However, Kuwaiti athletes were allowed to compete as independents. This actually resulted in history being made, as target shooter Fahid Alihani won gold in men’s double trap, making him the first independent to win a gold medal. The final results: bronze for Great Britain’s Stephen Scott, silver for Marco Incesenti, and gold for Fahid Aldihani, who last medaled in the double trap at Sydney 2000, 16 years ago.

4. South Africa
South Africa, 1964 through 1988. For over 40 years, South Africa was plagued by apartheid. This was a system of institutionalized racism that gave the minority white population complete control over the country while separating black Africans from the white minority. Laws made white people officially superior, and the large black majority faced discrimination in every aspect of their lives. To boycott this system, virtually every sporting organization banned South Africa from competing.

This included the International Olympic Committee, whereby South Africa wasn’t invited to participate in the Olympics between 1964 to 1988. It was finally allowed to compete upon the dissolution of apartheid in March of 1992 after gradual reform. Nelson Mandela, imprisoned since not long after Sharpeville, was set free in 1990. Four years later, he was elected as South Africa’s first black president. Apartheid had ended. The country returned to the Olympics for the 1992 Barcelona Games. 93 athletes competed and won two silver medals. Ilana Meyer won for women’s 10,000 meters, and Wayne Ferreira and Piet Norval won for men’s doubles tennis.

3. Rhodesia
Rhodesia, 1972 Summer Olympics. The Munich 1972 games are largely remembered for the Munich massacre, in which a group of Palestinian militants killed members of the Israeli team and a West German cop. Hundreds of TV cameras were in place to cover the Olympic events. Games now trained on this window. Inside, two Israeli athletes are dead. Another nine Israelis are held hostage by a group of Palestinian gunmen calling themselves Black September. But there was drama before the games even started, and that was with the ban of Rhodesia. Various African nations were threatening to boycott the games if Rhodesia, which they considered an illegal regime, was allowed to play. Do you know at the moment whether you’re still in the Olympic Games?

With just four days left before the games commenced, the IOC buckled to political pressure and banned Rhodesia from competing. This was despite the country having sent 44 athletes to Munich. The invitation to the Rhodesian team to participate in the Games of the 20th Olympiad has been withdrawn. They were all banned from participating, but they were permitted to remain in the country to watch.

2. Russia
Russia, 2016 to present. Russia currently holds the record for most Olympic medals stripped, with 43. This is the result of the infamous doping scandal which saw Russian state officials giving steroids to its athletes. Their scheme to dope Russian athletes at the 2014 Sochi Games on an industrial scale has cast a very long shadow over the sport as many sporting organizations have anti-doping legislations. The Russian Federation has been banned from virtually every big sporting event since the scandal was uncovered.

This includes the Olympics, and Russia hasn’t competed as a country since 2016. The IAAF banned Russian athletes after an investigation uncovered state-sponsored doping and a cover-up of positive tests. In the 2018 Games, Russian athletes were permitted to compete as the Olympic Athletes from Russia. In 2022, they will play as Russian Olympic Committee athletes, just as they had in the 2020 Summer Olympics, which took place in Tokyo in 2021. Russia is still facing sanctions for state-backed doping uncovered after Sochi 2014.

1. Germany and Japan
Germany and Japan, 1948 Winter and Summer Olympics. Just as the 1920s Summer Olympics barred the countries blamed for starting the war, so too did the 1948 Games. At the tape, it’s a photo finish. This year actually saw dual Winter and Summer Games taking place in Switzerland and London, respectively. These were the first Olympics in 12 years since World War II had raged between 1939-1945. Understandably, these Games were tinged with a tense political atmosphere. Both Germany and Japan were banned from the Games, with Bulgaria added to the list for the Summer Olympics, where German POWs were actually forced to help build the London facilities. Their ban didn’t last nearly as long as it did following World War I, as both countries returned for the Oslo 1952 Games.