LONDON — A stateless refugee from South Sudan and three athletes from the Dutch Antilles can compete as independent athletes under the Olympic flag in London, the International Olympic Committee said on Saturday.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said that the executive board agreed on Saturday to let marathon runner Guor Marial of South Sudan compete at the July 27-Aug. 12 Games.
“We will contact the athlete as soon as possible and expect him to come to London for the opening ceremony,” Adams said.
Marial is based in Florida. South Sudan is recognized as a state, but the war-torn country has no Olympic structures.
The Dutch Antilles trio of sprinter Churandy Martina, Philip Elhage (shooting) and Rodion Davelaar (swimming) also got the IOC nod.
Located in the Caribbean, the Dutch Antilles was an independent territory of the Netherlands until 2010 and had its own Olympic Committee and team.
The islands are now part of the Netherlands as special municipalities and have had no National Olympics Committee since 2011. Their athletes will compete within the Dutch team in the future.
Martina was disqualified at the 2008 Games in Beijing after originally finishing second in the 200 meters behind Jamaican Usain Bolt.
Athletes from former Yugoslavia competed under the Olympic flag 1992 in Barcelona, and so did athletes from East Timor at the 200 Games in Sydney.