I believe 1988 was the first Olympics that professional athletes were allowed to compete in certain events. But, 1998 was the last nail in the Amateur spirit of Olympics ended, the distinction between "amateur" and "professional" was deleted from the Olympic charter. Personally, I feel that the inclusion of professional athletes has sadly had a bad impact on the overall spirit of the Olympics. France's Pierre de Coubertin the Renaissancer of the modern Olympics envisioned a clean, pure, apolitical arena where "amateur" athletes compete for the betterment of human kind at the heights of human achievement. He created a vision that allowed anyone and everyone to compete, rich or poor. You didn't need to be professional or have endorsements. For me, this was a beautiful vision I wish was still continued today. Now...what is the Olympics Nike, Reebok, Wheaties or True Althletism? I can hear the complaints now. Trust me, I know this is not a popular view point. I'd love to hear any and all opinions concerning this issue.
PS...Billy Nelson a competitor in the Hurtles competition is from my home town...Taft, CA!!!!
2 comments:
I'll admit I never knew the Olympics existed without pro athletes, but if thats the case then I can see where you're coming from. With the pros came the cons (pun intended)...& the endorsements. It won't be the same for the little guy especially when pros have the best of everything to help train. I have to admit though that if they disallowed pros from the Olympics that it would ruin it a bit for me......simply because it's all I've known the games to have included.
i agree completely. a colleague of mine mentioned it, and said it wasn't right either. it means if i enter, i haven't got a hope in hell!
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