What Country Is 'OAR' In The Olympics?

The Olympics officially start Friday as athletes from nations around the world will march into the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang. But one country's flag will be noticeably missing. Russia was banned from competing in the 2018 Games as a country by the International Olympic Committee after a doping scandal.

While the Russian Olympic Committee was suspended along with a number of athletes, those who were billed as "clean" will still be allowed to compete under the Olympic flag. Instead of the initials for Russia, "RUS," following their names on the leaderboards, these athletes will have "OAR" for "Olympic Athlete from Russia," said a release from the IOC. If any of the athletes competing under OAR win a medal, the Olympic Anthem will play at the ceremony, not that of Russia.

While these athletes will be allowed to compete, no officials from Russia will be permitted to attend the games. Additionally, the IOC announced that several members of the ROC suspended, or not included in further Olympic planning.

The athletes who will compete under OAR were chosen through a process outlined by the IOC. Only athletes who met the qualifying standards for their sport were invited. In addition to the required qualification standards, they also needed to have never been disqualified or ever found in violation of anti-doping rules, they needed to have undergone the pre-games target tests, as well as any other testing requirements a panel deemed necessary.

Special restrictions were made for leadership, coaching and medical staff who were allowed to the games. No doctor, coach or leader from the Russian Olympic Team at the 2014 Sochi games were invited to the Pyeongchang games. The IOC also reserved the right to deny anyone else from the country.

With these restrictions in place, there are 168 athletes from Russia who will be wearing the Olympic logo and the title OAR during the two weeks of competition.