Olympic amateurism’s death throes?

Press, 20 February 1986, Page 48

Olympic amateurism’s death throes?

By

STEPHEN PARRY

of Reuters London > The last bastions of 19th century Olympic idealism look ready to crumble with the Games set to be thrown open to the millionaire stars of professional sport from 1988. The Olympic authorities’ new-found determination to face up to the commercial realities of modern sport will remove the remaining vestiges of the strict amateur code imposed on the modern Olympic movement 90 years ago by its founder, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, of France. The plan to open up the Games 4o all athletes, ineluding ’ professionals, an-

nounced this month by the International Olympic Committee (1.0. C. represents the most fundamental change undertaken since the modern Olympic Games began in 1896. Under the new regulations, the world’s highest paid sports personalities — such as the Argentine World Cup soccer striker, Diego Maradona, the Canadian ice hockey star, Wayne Gretzky, and the leading tennis player, Ivan Lendl, of Czechoslovakia — would be eligible to take part The revised rules would remove the existing anomalies which have led to some top competitors being banned for professionalism while ogiers have been allowed- to

compete despite their high earnings. After decades of under-the-counter payments to athletes (the days of socalled “shamateurism”), and the banning of other prominent names from Olympic participation, the rules of the international federations governing the various Olympic sports were eventually made more flexible to allow competitors to accept appearance or prize money outside the Games. But the double standards remained, so that while the Swedish ski star, Ingemar Stenmark, was barred from the 1984 Sarajevo winter Olympics for professionalism, the American track and field hero, Carl Lewis, was able

to send his earning power rocketing by winning four gold medals at the Los Angeles Games six months later. The Sarajevo Olympics were also notable for the banning of five ice hockey players on the eve of the tournament because they had signed contracts with professional clubs. “We want to get rid of this hypocrisy and we want the best athletes in the world to take part in the Games,” an 1.0. C. source told Reuters. In fact, the eligibility commission's draft plan, accepted unanimously by the 1.0. C. Executive Board, goes considerably further than simply throwing open the doors

to professionals. The proposals, which are expected to be approved by the 91-member 1.0. C. in October, also call for appearance money to be paid to teams and individuals taking part in the games. A fund of $U54.72 million ($8.77 million) has been set aside to pay Olympic teams a minimum of SUSIO,OOO ($18,600), with individuals receiving SUS3OO ($558), for competing in the Olympics. Apart from delivering the coup de grace to de Coubertin’s lofty amateur ideals, the plan also represents a considerable reversal of stated policy for the 1.0. C. President,

Juan Antonio Samaranch. Announcing the proposals, Mr Samaranch said they were aimed at providing the same opportunities for Olympic participation by professionals from Western countries as for State-aided athletes from Socialist nations.

The concept of professionalism is not recognised by the Socialist countries, whose top athletes are eligible for the Games despite receiving material benefits from the State. -

Their Western counterparts, on the other hand, are at present banned because their material benefits are provided by professional clubs or commercial companies.