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Independent / Individual Olympic Participants

What about athletes not belonging to a country, or from a country not yet an official member of the IOC? In recent years, there have been several examples of athletes competing independent of a country. In 1992 a team competed under the banner 'Independent Olympic Participants'. In 2000, East Timorese athletes competed as 'Individual Olympic Athletes', and in 2012 athletes from South Sudan and the former Netherlands Antilles competed as 'Independent Olympic Athletes'.

1992 Barcelona

During the 1992 Summer Olympics, athletes from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Republic of Macedonia competed as Independent Olympic Participants. Macedonian athletes could not appear under their own flag because their NOC had not been formed, while The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) was under United Nations sanctions. The athletes were not permitted to compete in team sports such as basketball, handball, or water polo, and the Olympic flag was used in medal ceremonies. Three athletes won medals in 1992 as Independent Olympic Participants, all in shooting. There were 58 competitors (39 men and 19 women), competing in 54 events in 13 sports.

2000 Sydney

Four athletes from East Timor competed as Individual Olympic Athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics. These athletes competed under the Olympic flag. The best result was by weight lifter Martinho de Araujo, who placed 20th in the men's weightlifting.

2012 London

Athletes from the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles, which was dissolved in 2011, were able to compete in 2012 as Independent Olympic Athletes (IOA) under the Olympic flag. Also an athlete from the newly formed country of South Sudan was able to compete as an Independent Athlete. The Independent Athletes in 2012 from Antilles (all from Curaçao) were: Reginald De Windt (Judo), Liemarvin Bonevacia (400m), and Philipine van Aanholt (Sailing), and from South Sudan Guor Marial (Marathon).

2016 Rio

A team of Independent Olympic Athletes competed in Rio. The team was composed of Kuwaiti athletes, competing under the Olympic flag because the Kuwait Olympic Committee had been suspended by the International Olympic Committee for the second time in five years due to governmental interference. Also, a small group of refugees comprised of athletes displaced from their home country competed at the Rio Olympics as part of a team of "Refugee Olympic Athletes" (ROA).

2024 Paris - Individual Neutral Athletes

For the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Belarus and Russia have been banned from competing due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Selected athletes who demonstrated that they have never "actively" supported the war were allowed to compete, though with restrictions. The delegation will use the IOC code AIN, after the French name Athlètes Individuels Neutres. Unlike previous Independent Athletes, the competitors wont be using the neutral Olympic flag and Olympic anthem, but a unique teal colored flag with an AIN logo. The delegation will not take part in the parade of nations, nor be listed on any medal table.

Trivia

Yugoslavian Shooter Jasna Šekarić and table tennis player Ilija Lupulesku are the only athletes to compete under four different flags at the Olympic Games. They both competed for Yugoslavia at Seoul in 1988, then under the Olympic flag as Independent Olympic Participants at Barcelona 1992, then represented the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (later called Serbia and Montenegro) at Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. In Athens 2004, Šekarić again represented Serbia and Montenegro while Lupulesku became an American citizen and competed for the USA. In 2008 and 2012 Šekarić competed for Serbia following Montenegro's independence.
In 2016, shooter Fehaid Al-Deehani became the first independent athlete to win a gold medal.