Independent athletes have come from North Macedonia, East Timor, South Sudan and Curaçao following geopolitical changes in the years before the Olympics, from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (present-day Serbia and Montenegro) as a result of international sanctions, and from India and Kuwait due to the suspensions of their National Olympic Committees.

Starting from 2018, athletes from Russia have competed under a neutral designation for various reasons, mainly mass violations of anti-doping rules and since 2022, the Belarus-assisted invasion of Ukraine.

Prior to the 1906 Intercalated Games, entry was not restricted to teams nominated by National Olympic Committees (NOCs).

[1] During the Cold War, some athletes who emigrated from Soviet Bloc countries were unable to compete at the Olympics, as their original state's NOC neither wanted them on its own team nor gave them permission to transfer nationality.

[2] 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.

Some NOCs, mostly from Western Europe, wished to attend the Games despite their governments' support for the American-led boycott in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) was under United Nations sanctions which prevented the country from taking part in the Olympics.

[19] Although Yulia Stepanova was cleared by IAAF because of her revelations regarding Russia's systemic doping program, and the IOC's recognition of her "contribution to the protection and promotion of clean athletes", she was banned by the IOC in line with the decision to ban all Russian athletes with previous doping convictions.

Russian athletes were allowed to participate under the Olympic flag as "Olympic Athletes from Russia" (OAR) if they were cleared by a panel, which was chaired by Valerie Fourneyron and had representatives from the IOC, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and the Doping Free Sport Unit of the Global Association of International Sports Federations.

The IOC code was changed to the French acronym "EOR" which stands for Équipe olympique des réfugiés.

[26] Following a decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), it was announced that Russia would compete under the acronym "ROC", after the name of the Russian Olympic Committee.

[27][28] Similarly to the 2020 Summer Olympics, Russia competed in the 2022 Beijing Games under the "ROC" acronym due to WADA's sanctions.