The Olympics is all about athletes representing their country on the ultimate world stage, competing under the flag that many call home.
Medal tallies and success are recorded and referred to by the countries the athletes come from.
The US was applauded for taking out the most gold medals at Tokyo 2020 with 39, while the host nation (and traditionally a strong medal-winner) Japan won 27. Australia claimed 17 gold medals.
How is it that there are 195 countries in the world, but 207 Olympic teams?
Technically countries don’t actually compete in the Olympics – rather athletes from National Olympic Committees (NOCs) do.
Approximately 10,500 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team (EOR) will take part in Paris 2024, meaning there will be 12 more teams than there are official countries, to account for geo-politics.
These NOCs include each of the 193 member states of the United Nations, UN observer state Palestine, two states without UN recognition in Kosovo and Taiwan, and one associated state of New Zealand – the Cook Islands.
There are also nine dependent territories with recognised NOCs, including four territories of the US – American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
The others are three British Overseas Territories (Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and the Cayman Islands) one constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Aruba) and one special administrative region of China (Hong Kong).
Will Russia be competing in the Olympics?
The same order was made for athletes from Belarus, which has supported Russia in the invasion.
The athletes competing as AIN had to be individually approved by the IOC, and not have been found to have publicly supported the invasion of Ukraine.
The AIN classification means athletes from those countries will compete without any mention of their country, like how Russian and Belarusian tennis players are presented at ATP, WTA and grand slam events. They will not appear in medal tallies and cannot take part in team events.
Can Olympians compete with no country?
Athletes typically compete under their country’s flag, but there are exceptions, such as Russian and Belarussian athletes, and those competing as members of the Refugee Olympic Team.
The Refugee Olympic Team represents the more than 100 million forcibly displaced people worldwide. It is made up of 37 athletes and is this year led by the chef de mission Masomah Ali Zada, who was a member of the Refugee Olympic Team at Tokyo 2020.
The majority of athletes on the team are supported through the Refugee Athlete Scholarship Programme, which is managed by the Olympic Refuge Foundation and funded by Olympic Solidarity.
The IOC Executive Board selected the Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024.
Olympians and Paralympians wine and dine with PM in lead up to Paris
Can Olympians compete for a team other than the one of their nationality?
Any competitor in the Olympic Games must be a national of the country of the NOC which is entering the competitor, according to the Olympic Charter (Rule 40-41).
A competitor who is a national of two or more countries at the same time may represent either one of them, as they elect.
Competitors also cannot change NOCs unless under “certain circumstances”.
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