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Here's Why These Nations Got Kicked Out Of The Olympics

For over a century, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which oversees the Olympic Games, has enacted bans on countries due to political conflicts, human rights issues, and war.

A Gendarmerie non-commissioned officer of the National Gendarmerie, carries the Olympic flag as she rides on the Iena bridge during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024

Here's a list of all the countries that have been banned over the years!

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The 1920 Olympics held in Antwerp, Belgium banned five countries from competing due to their involvement in World War I. This ban was part of a broader effort to sideline nations involved in the conflict. The countries banned were:

Austria

Historic city street scene in Vienna, Austria in 1920 with people walking, trams and cars in motion, buildings with signage, and a cinema marquee in the foreground
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Germany

Historic main street scene with people walking, flags hanging from buildings, and period cars from Mainz Germany, circa 1920
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Hungary

A historical procession featuring soldiers in ceremonial uniforms with swords, clergymen in ornate robes, and several onlookers, all gathered in a paved courtyard at St. Stefan's Day in Budapest, Hungary
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Bulgaria

Historical photograph depicting uniformed officials arriving in an open-top vehicle, greeted by a large assembly of soldiers in front of a building in 1920 in Bulgaria
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Turkey

Historic photo of Izmir's Konak Square with the Clock Tower, people walking, and old vehicles parked. The background features the government building and trees in eastern Turkey, circa 1920.
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The 1924 Olympics held in Paris, France invited all countries back to the Olympics, but extended the ban for one country:

Germany

The National Socialist Adolf Hitler picked up by car at the Landsberg fortress in 1924.
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The 1948 Olympics held in London, UK banned three countries from competing due to the aftermath of World War II and their involvement:

Japan

A historic view of American troops as they march past the reviewing stand during Army Day ceremony held at the Emperor's Palace Plaza grounds, Tokyo, Japan, April 6, 1948.
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Germany

A bustling crowd at the Leipziger railway station, Saxony, Germany, 1948. Ppeople walk in and around a large train station with an ornate façade and arched windows
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Bulgaria

A massive crowd from a balcony, the scene is filled with people and flags in the background from Bulgaria 1948
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The 1964 Olympics, held in Tokyo, Japan banned one country from competing due to the apartheid system of racial discrimination which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sought to condemn. The ban continued through 1992 for this country:

South Africa

Anti-apartheid campaigner Winnie Mandela, leaves the Palace of Justice in Pretoria on June 12, 1964, with her fist clenched, after the verdict of the Rivonia Trial was given.
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The 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany banned one country from competing after protests regarding their racial segregation policies:

Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)

Abraham Ordia (seated left), President of Sports in Africa, and Djibrilla Hirna (seated right), vice president of the group, join others in giving victory sign after the ICC expelled Rhodesia from the Olympic Games
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The 2000 Olympics held in Sydney, Australia banned one country from competing due to their restrictions on women being prohibited from sports and prohibition of sports altogether:

Afghanistan

Young girls study in a secret school on the outskirts of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, November 2000
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The 2018 Olympics held in Pyeongchang, South Korea banned one country after the IOC found evidence of a doping scheme. Some athletes could compete after proving they were not involved or participated in the scheme and were barred from wearing their nation's uniform:

Russia (athletes had to compete as an "Olympic Athlete of Russia")

Athletes of the team Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) in winter gear march together. Large flags are visible in the background
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The 2022 Olympics held in Beijing, China banned one country after they refused to send a team to the Tokyo, Japan Olympics in 2020, citing COVID as a concern:

North Korea

Statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il stand tall while masked and socially-distanced people walk around in front of them at the Mansu Hill Grand Monument on July 27, 2022
Kim Won Jin / AFP via Getty Images / Via Getty Images

The 2024 Olympics held in Paris, France had to approve Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) (athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport) to compete as neutral athletes without their national flags and anthems for the Olympic Games due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The Eiffel Tower lit up at night with the Olympic rings suspended in the middle, symbolizing the hosting of the upcoming Olympic Games
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Have you heard of any of these bans? Let me know in the comments.