Soviet Union and East Germany
Another high-profile self-imposed ban would take place four years later at the 1984 summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In direct response to the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games by the United States and Canada, fourteen Eastern Bloc countries led by the Soviet Union and East Germany withdrew from the Los Angeles Games in protest.As a result, Romania and Yugoslavia were the only socialist European states to compete in the Olympics that year. Despite the boycott, 140 countries attended the Games that year, a record turnout at the time, with the United States, Romania, and West Germany sharing the podium for most medals won.What’s more, the 1984 Games raked in a profit of more than $250 million, as the use of existing sports facilities and private investment helped make the Los Angeles Games into what is widely considered to be one of the most profitable and well-run Olympics to date
Afghanistan
Two hundred countries would have participated in the 2000 summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, if not for the exclusion of Afghanistan. As the only IOC member nation not to participate in the Games of the New Millennium, Afghanistan was banned from competing due to the totalitarian rule of the Taliban.From 1996 to 2001, Afghanistan oppressed women and prohibited the playing of sports. And so, with more than 4,000 women competing in over 300 athletic events, it’s no wonder the country wasn’t asked to participate.
India
The alleged involvement of the Indian Olympic Association Secretary General Lalit Bhanot in the controversies at the 2010 Commonwealth Games had serious repercussions for India at the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi.With Bhanot’s name being attached to the allegations of corruption, unsafe construction, and a lack of security at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the IOC banned India from competing at Sochi 2014. That said, three Indian athletes were still permitted to compete as Independent Olympic Participants, with the Olympic flag taking the place of India’s flag at the opening ceremonies. India’s flag would fly by the closing ceremonies, however, as the ban was lifted partway through the Games when the Indian Olympic Association elected a new president.
Kuwait
Following Kuwait’s return to the Olympics at the London Games in 2012, the country again received a ban by the IOC at the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Kuwaiti athletes could only compete as independents that year due to political interference in the country’s Olympic committee.Even so, Kuwait still managed to add to the number of firsts that took place at Rio 2016. In addition to the Games being the first Olympics held in South America and the first appearances of Kosovo and South Sudan, Kuwaiti target shooter Fehaid Al-Deehani became the first independent to win a gold medal for his performance in men’s double trap.
Russia
Perhaps the most infamous instance of a country being banned from the Olympics is when Russian state officials were caught providing its athletes with illicit performance-enhancing drugs. Almost every sizable sporting competition since has banned the Russian Federation from participating due to their violation of anti-doping legislation, with the most significant punishment coming from the Olympics.The IOC has stripped Russia of a record 43 Olympic medals and prohibited the country from competing since the scandal was brought to light in 2016. Russian athletes now compete under the Olympic flag, which identified them as the Olympic Athletes from Russia in 2018 and the Russian Olympic Committee athletes in 2021 and 2022.
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