The International Olympic Committee executive board has voted to modify a rule that athletes claimed prevented them from properly marketing themselves while qualifying and competing as Olympic athletes, the Associated Press reports.

In place during the 2012 Olympics, the provision known as Rule 40 blocked athletes from promoting anything but official Olympic sponsors during the Games. It was intended to protect major corporations that were paying as much as $100 million for four years of global sponsorship rights. Athletes who violated the rule around the time of the Olympics faced potential disqualification or forfeiture of medals.

Athletes considered the rule overly restrictive, and said it hurt their relationship with non-Olympic sponsors and curtailed their income.

The IOC executive board has modified the rule to allow "generic" or "non-Olympic advertising" during the Games.

"If someone has a contract with a watch manufacturer, that may continue as long as the advert doesn't relate to the Games," IOC spokesperson Mark Adams told the Associated Press. The change will require approval by the full IOC in Malaysia in July and could be in effect for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

A Twitter campaign with the hashtag #WeDemandChange2012 was initiated by the Track and Field Athletes Association in July of that year. Athletes also released a statement that read, “While we consider representing our country at the Olympics the highest honor, every day we face the reality that achieving that dream requires financial support. This support requires that we be able to effectively market ourselves and acquire sponsorship, a process that is part of an ongoing journey, 365 days a year, every single year.”

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