Can Countries buy athletes like they do in Football?

Question

For example:

Jamaica has very fast runners and stuff, are they going to be bought/Sponsered by the USA or some other countries?

Answer 1

Yes Qatar does it all the time.  For example take a Bulgarian weightlifter like Yani Marchokov.  Give him a million bucks a Qatari passport and an Arabic name like Saeed Salem Jaber and voila.

Answer 2

threres a swimmer that goes to college in the u.s. but she represents Zimbabwe

Answer 3

Yes they can and do.

Answer 4

A few Kenyan athletes now represent different countries.  Officially they cannot be bought or sponsored by a country but the new host country is allowed to provide the athlete with a comfortable standard of living!  Also I think the athlete must have been resident in the new country for two years before they can represent that country in the Olympics.

Answer 5

Yeah, the guy holding the US flag in the opening ceremony wasn't even born in the US.  He was born in an african country although the name slips my mind at this moment.

Answer 6

no they cannot be bought. any one who is paid to represent a country in the olympics is disqualified. athletes can choose to represent the country of their choice. some choose their home country, such as the US, or a country of their parents. Countries can try to lure athletes to compete for us, but buying them out is prohibited. It comes down to who the athlete wishes to represent in the greatest athletic showcase of our time.

* the guy holding the US flag was not born here, but he is a US citizen.

Answer 7

No but the USA will fast track them to be citizens.  

Answer 8

Yes the us does it all the time

GO US