The Olympic flag -- simple, elegant, and relentlessly protected by intellectual-property lawyers in Lausanne, Switzerland. It represents the five continents, and at least one of the five colors appears in the banner of every nation on earth. But messy politics sometimes require that sport's ultimate symbol of peace be used to represent nations or athletes without a flag of their own. Here are six examples.
Unified Team (EUN), 1992
The transition from USSR to individual republics was relatively quick and clean. Despite opposition from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, 10 former Soviet republics -- Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan -- became the Commonwealth of Independent States in December of 1991 (Azerbaijan and Georgia would sign on later). The charter was drafted, agreed upon and cleared by all countries mere weeks after the Soviet Union's breakup.
With the Winter Games of Albertville approaching in February 2002, the International Olympic Committee had to make a decision on how it was to classify all these new countries, none of which had the time to file paperwork with the IOC. Adding to the confusion were the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, which had been granted exit from the USSR in September 1991 but refused to become CIS members.
The temporary solution was the "Unified Team," which would compete in 1992 under the Olympic flag (the abbreviation used was EUN, from the French "Equipe Unifiée"). At the Winter Games, Olympic champions such as figure skater Viktor Petrenko and nordic skiier Lyubov Yegorova looked blankly on from the podium as the five-ring banner was unfurled and the Olympic Hymn -- a wonderful composition, but not one you expect to hear at the greatest moment of your sporting life -- played over the loudspeakers. But when the Barcelona Olympics came around, the Unified competitors (many wearing blank white jerseys) were treated to their own national anthems when they won gold medals.
And win they often did. The six-nation Unified Team won nine golds in Albertville, and their 23 total medals were second behind Germany. All 12 republics combined for 45 gold, 38 silver and 29 bronze for 112 total medals -- far outpacing the 94 won by the United States.
Chinese Taipei (TPE), 1984-present
No Olympic team consitutes as much of a political hot potato as Chinese Taipei, the island nation once known as the Republic of China, or more commonly in modern times, Taiwan. But the Communist regime in the People's Republic of China refuses to recognize it as a valid government, and as China has grown in power and influence in the world, has pressured others to take the same tack as its own "One-China policy." As a result, many international organizations choose not to offend China's sensibilities, and currently do not refer to the ROC as a separate and sovereign nation.
As the Republic of China, the country earned a silver in Rome 1960 (decathlete Yang Chuan-kwang) and a bronze in Mexico City eight years later (women's hurdler Chi Cheng). Since 1984, flying under a modified Olympic flag (right), Chinese Taipei has won 13 total medals, including two golds in taekwondo four years ago in Athens.
South Africa (SAF), 1992
In 1964, after an IOC ultimatum, South Africa was banned from the Olympics for its apartheid policies of racial segregation. In 1991, the parliament repealed its laws, and reapplied for membership in the world sports community. The IOC, satisfied that the country had made a commitment to racial equality, allowed South Africa to compete in the 1992 Olympics.
But there was one condition: South Africa could not use the flag and anthem under which the exilable offenses had occurred. Instead, an "interim symbol" was designed for use in Barcelona. The country won two silvers, matching the grey diamond on the flag (to represent mineral wealth) -- in men's doubles tennis (Wayne Ferreira and Piet Norval) and the women's 10000 meter run (Elana Meyer).
Once a democratic government was installed in 1994, there was no longer any need for South Africa's athletes to compete under the Olympic rings.
East Timor, 2000
Tiny East Timor, which shares an island with Indonesia, came out from under that country's violent and bloody rule in 1999. Global recognition of the state came in 2002, but in the interim, there were athletes from East Timor who wanted to compete at the Olympics. The IOC granted four East Timorese the status of "Independent Olympic Participants," and they marched in the Opening Ceremony under the rings. One was weightlifter Martinho de Araujo, who practiced with paint cans when his equipment was destroyed. He finished 20th and last in the men's 56kg division.
The country began competing as Timor-Leste (abbreviation: TLS) in 2004.
Yugoslavia, 1992
The concept of Independent Olympic Participants didn't start in 2000; eight years earlier, fighting in and around Sarajevo -- the 1984 Winter Olympic nation -- led the United Nations to sanction Yugoslavia. The IOC did not allow the country to enter a team, but individual athletes were invited to perform as IOP's.
Three shooters -- the peaceful kind -- won medals in Barcelona, and the rings were raised at their medal ceremonies. Jasna Sekaric silvered in the women's air pistol, and two took home bronze: Aranka Binder (women's air rifle) and Stevan Pletikosic (men's rifle).
Sixteen nations, 1980
The U.S.-led boycott hit the 1980 Moscow Games hard -- 65 eligible nations chose not to send teams. Some of the 80 that did attend did so under varying forms of protest. The New Zealand team was not permitted to compete under the nation's flag; the four-member team marched under a modified (and, if we may say so, cool) black flag that featured the fern leaf logo of New Zealand's Olympic Committee.
In all, 16 nations -- Australia, Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Puerto Rico, San Marino, Spain, and Switzerland -- also flew the rings, and were serenaded by the Olympic Hymn when they won. Needless to say, there were a number of medal ceremonies where three Olympic flags were hoisted up the three flagpoles, accompanied by this lovely song.
(Photo © Icon SMI)
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