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    Countries banned from the Olympics
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    Countries banned from the Olympics


    The opening of the Winter Games on February 6, 2026, is a good time to remind everyone that Olympic tranquility doesn't always apply to everyone. Although the Games are associated with unity, history shows that big politics regularly deals the cards and determines who can appear in the stadium.

    It all began back in 1920, when after World War I, countries such as Germany, Austria, and Turkey were denied invitations. The situation repeated itself in 1948, when, following another global conflict, Germany was once again left in the sporting waiting room.

    In turn, the recent history of Russia and Belarus demonstrates that modern restrictions—whether due to doping issues or armed conflicts—can exclude even the greatest players from competition. Today's opening of the Games proves that competing in competitions is not just a matter of physical fitness but also a reflection of a country's relationship with the rest of the world.

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    🔒 All published designs and visual layouts are the intellectual property of u/maven.mapping, reuse of the design may result in legal action. Sources belong to their respective owners.

    Posted by maven_mapping

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    39 Comments

    5. VerdantChief on

      Why only include the European countries that were banned? I’d like to know which other countries were banned around the world.

    8. TrueBrees9 on

      I’d like to point out your final statement that Russian athletes were banned. They were allowed to compete, and still are in this current Olympics, just not under the Russian flag. Many have won medals, most notably the 2018 OAR men’s hockey team. 

    10. stupititykills on

      I had to look up what the hell happened in 1920: It was the first Olympics held after World War 1, and the former Central Powers were banned from participating.

    13. Ill-Room-4895 on

      Other countries banned from the Olympics:

      * **Japan** was banned in 1948 due to World War II.
      * **South Africa** was banned from 1964 to 1992 due to apartheid.
      * **Rhodesia** (now Zimbabwe) was banned in 1972 over its racial policies.
      * **Afghanistan** was banned in 2000 due to the Taliban’s stance on women.
      * **Kuwait** was suspended in 2015 due to government interference in its Olympic committee.
      * **North Korea** was suspended in 2022 for refusing to send a team to the Tokyo Games, citing the Covid-19 pandemic. North Korea was also barred in 1968 due to a dispute with the IOC regarding their participation in a rival sporting event and disagreements over the nation’s name.

      **Russia and Belarus** are banned from competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

    14. MrB10b on

      Interesting that Russia didn’t get banned after Crimea invasion from 2014.
      I’m guessing its because Russia didn’t own up to it (until I’m guessing 2016, hence why they were banned then??)

    17. no_sight on

      Does it really count if the athletes are still allowed to go as “Individual Neutral Athletes”

    18. The_Cers on

      What was their reason for banning Russia and little Russia last time? Do they ban countries for political reasons?

    27. Evol_extra on

      War in Ukraine started exactly 2 days after 2022 winter Olympic games in China. They waited to not piss-off Xi.

    28. whitet86 on

      The fact that Israel wasn’t banned was such bullshit. They literally get away with genocide.

    29. conrat4567 on

      I am surprised there where any able bodied athletes left in 1948. If I had just finished a tour in Africa and they asked me to do the 100m sprint, I would tell them to bugger off.

    30. thedrew on

      But Germany had the opportunity to send two teams for about 10 Olympics. So they should be ok. 

    31. garf2002 on

      Brutal that the 3 times Germany got excluded were simply after the world wars… not 1936 when they were literally under the Nazi regime and HOSTED IT

    32. Anistappi on

      >🔒 All published designs and visual layouts are the intellectual property of [u/maven.mapping](https://www.instagram.com/maven.mapping/), reuse of the design may result in legal action. Sources belong to their respective owners.

      This is very lol worthy when the “designs” are pretty much the most basic kind of a map you can produce and there’s really nothing unique about the design choices. It would take me a couple of minutes to replicate **exactly** this map.

    39. darkbluefav on

      Israel: 0, despite committing genocide.

      And that shows the important of padding the US military industrial complex’s bottom line and having good connections with the US department of war and keeping a reason for war around the world.