Although representing your “country” at the Olympics or Paralympics is a point of pride for athletes, not every flag we see flown at the Games is officially a nation.
According to Article 6 of the Olympic Charter, the Olympic Games are “competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries.” Despite this, country rankings in the medal standings are featured prominently during the Games, and we also hear the national anthem of each gold medalist’s country during the medal ceremonies.
However, included amongst these “countries” are entities with limited recognition, or even some with no international recognition as a sovereign state.
The current Olympic Charter rules date back to 1996, which came on the heels of the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. This led to the creation of some internationally recognized entities on the world stage, such as Slovenia.
The IOC defines “country” as “an …