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.

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

Germany

Hungary

Bulgaria

Turkey

The 1924 Olympics held in Paris , France invited all countries back to the Olympics, but extended the ban for one country:

Germany

The 1948 Olympics held in London, UK banned three countries from competing due to the aftermath of World War II and their involvement:

Japan

Germany

Bulgaria

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

The 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany banned one country from competing after protests regarding their racial segregation policies:

Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)

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

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")

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

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.

Have you heard of any of these bans? Let me know in the comments.