AIN at the Olympics stands for the French term “Athlètes Individuels Neutres,” which means “Individual Neutral Athletes” in English.

What AIN means in practice

  • It is a special IOC code used for certain athletes who are not allowed to compete under their national flag but are still allowed to participate as neutral individuals.
  • Right now, it mainly applies to athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports, because those countries are banned from the Games due to the war in Ukraine.
  • These athletes compete under the AIN flag (a custom teal/turquoise flag with an AIN emblem) and a special neutral anthem with no lyrics, not under Russia’s or Belarus’s symbols.

Why you’re seeing AIN instead of a country

  • The IOC wants to sanction the states (Russia and Belarus) but still allow some vetted athletes to compete if they meet strict neutrality and anti‑war criteria.
  • AIN replaces earlier designations used for Russian athletes, such as “ROC” (Russian Olympic Committee) or “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”
  • AIN is treated like a delegation code on TV and scoreboards, but it is not a country and you can’t “travel” there; it’s just an Olympic label.

In short: when you see “AIN” next to an athlete’s name at the Olympics, it means they’re competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, not for any official country.

TL;DR:
“AIN” = Athlètes Individuels Neutres (Individual Neutral Athletes), the IOC code for vetted Russian and Belarusian athletes competing without their national flags, anthems, or team status.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.