Hamilton and the Olympics.

Well this is about any pro rider really, not just Hamilton.

I was always under the impression that only amateur athletes could compete for thier country in the Olympics. Ekimov, Hamilton et al are professional riders arent they? How does that work?
I always thought you had to be pro to ride le Tour de France, Vuelta etc.

cheers
MP

That changed long ago. Every olympic track athlete, at least from the US is a pro. Have you watched any olympic basketball? The U.S. team all play for the NBA.

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i didnt realise that..

thanks..

I know professional athletes have been allowed since 1992 when the US won gold with the dream team in basketball. Of course Jim Thorpe was stripped of his 1912 medals because he made a miniscule amount of money playing semi-pro ball,probably so he could buy food. They were later restored.
And Karl Schranz (skier) banned in 1972 from the olympics because of "Professionalism" sponsorhip issues.
I think it is mostly about the money now.

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Dope,when training and talent just aren't enough.

Yeah, phelps was to be given a $1 million bonus by his sponsors if he broke spitz's record.

Olympic football (soccer) still has restriction! Only U-23 or U-25 players can participate! But at the beginning, of course, olympics were reserved for amateurs!

i was going to say that, there were some soccer players that were forbidden this year because they are professionals. I dont quite know how that works.

By '84 "Amatuer" athletes could receive funds as long as those funds were channelled through their respective account in their national olympic committe.

By '88 that was broadened to permit the specific sport federations to decide whether to allow professionals and how to define professionals. In '88, the basketball federation defined a professional as an athlete who had played in the NBA or CBA.

It wasn't b/c they were pro's. Olympic soccer teams must be made up of players under 23 years old. Each team however, is allowed 1 or 2 players over the age of 23, known as overage exceptions. Almost every player competing int he olympic competition was a professional.

Yes, thats the difference!

Each sport in the Olympics is managed or governed by its own organizing body. In the case of soccer it's FIFA. FIFA has made it very publically known over the years that they do not want "their" world championship (The World Cup) to be diluted by the Olympics.

The IOC has always had a battle with the various governing bodies who have an opportunity to control the purse strings better with their own "world" championships.

BTW - The aspect of "amatuer" in sport goes back to the origins of the modern olympics when the aristocrats needed a way to keep from consorting with the "riff-raff." In those days, only a gentlemen, aristocrat, student, land-owner or royal-type could afford the time to "study" sport (think "Chariots of Fire") and by extension, anyone with a "job" or needing to earn a living from sport was considered to be from a lower-class and not of the type "they" wanted in the club.

the olympic medals mean nothing for football players, Champions League, UEFA cup, Euro 2004 and the World cup are the competitions that generate money on a club and international level, and thats what football is all about these days.

btw, Celtic play AC Milan tomorrow...c'mon the hoops.