Ancient Olympics Modern Games

Reasons for changing citizenship

Sometimes, athletes become citizens of new nations solely for the purpose of competing in the Olympics. This usually happens either because people are drawn to sponsorships and training facilities in places like the United States or because an athlete does not qualify in their original country. This is usually because there are many qualified athletes in an athlete’s home country and they want to be able to participate as well as help the team of their new country. Between 1992 and 2008, there were about fifty athletes that have immigrated to the United States to compete on the US Olympic team after having previously competed for another nation. Notably, recent teams fromBahrain and Qatar have largely, if not exclusively been made up of foreign born athletes. The list of eligibility transfers in athletics tracks the changes in that sport.