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Originally Posted by transplant99
Yes I read it...he had a country that HE didnt want to represent.
They wont go, I understand that.....however, that doesnt mean they weren't entitled to go, because they were. They also could go on their own dime and participate under the Olympic flag.
At any rate, Im out of this thing, you are absolutely over the top maniacal about something or other, that isnt what the original post was about.
Like I said....carry on.
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Over the top maniacal? You're the one who decided to jump in here, and all I've done is present facts on how Olympic participation actually works, not your fantasyland version of it.
Olympic participation is subject to the IOC, which in turn sanctions the individual National Olympic Committees (NOCs). Here's a quote form olympic.org that may clear this up for you:
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Only an NOC is able to select and send teams and competitors for participation in the Olympic Games.
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http://www.olympic.org/ioc-governanc...pic-committees
An NOC simply choosing not to send an athlete or team does not create the ability for an athlete or team to compete under the Olympic flag as an independent athlete. That privilege has been granted by the IOC under 2 circumstances, political transition and international sanctions. In fact, there is precedent for the IOC denying an appeal to compete under the Olympic flag in the case of a nation boycotting a games. Per Wikipedia:
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When Guyana joined the 1976 Olympic boycott, its sprinter James Gilkes asked the IOC to be allowed to compete as an individual, but was refused.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indepen..._Olympic_Games
Nations have the ability to determine who they will send to the Olympics, regardless of that person having met any Olympic qualifying standard. Many nations have refused to send athletes who met qualifying standards, be it for budgetary reasons or in the case of somewhere like Saudi Arabia a long standing ban (lifted in 2012) on female participation. None of those athletes had the ability to simply go to the Olympics on their own, although athletes banned on account of their gender may have provided a compelling case.