Federer and Nadal: Professionals at the Olympics
Join the debate on whether professionals should play in the Olympics. < Back to Story
Quick links:
- News archive
- Features
- Events Round-up
- Olympics Live
Your View
-
Sunday August 24
0030 Athletics - Men's marathon
0630 Boxing - Six finals
0730 Basketball - Men's final
1330 Closing ceremony
All times BST
| G | S | B | Tot | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CHN | 51 | 21 | 28 | 100 |
| 2 | USA | 36 | 38 | 36 | 110 |
| 3 | RUS | 23 | 21 | 28 | 72 |
| 4 | GBR | 19 | 13 | 15 | 47 |
| 5 | GER | 16 | 10 | 15 | 41 |
| 6 | AUS | 14 | 15 | 17 | 46 |
Keep the Olympics amateur?
Join the debate on whether the Olympics has become too professional.
Vancouver - day seven
Images from the seventh day of action in Vancouver with golds galore and beer-laden celebrations.
Vancouver - day six
American Lindsey Vonn lit up the Winter Olympics with her downhill gold medal success.
Vancouver - day five
All of the best snow-fuelled action from Vancouver in the Winter Olympics, with biathlon taking centre stage.
Opening Ceremony
After a tragic start to the Winter Olympics, the opening ceremony tried to lift the spirits in Vancouver.
Olympic memories - Great Britain
A look back at some memorable Great British moments from previous Winter Olympics.
Olympic memories - overseas
A look back at some other memorable moments from previous Winter Olympics.
London 2012 sailing venue
Images from the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, which will hold the London 2012 sailing events.
Decade in pictures
Skysports.com delves into the archives for pictures that have define a decade of sporting moments.
Around the site today
Change your game!
Achieve bigger and better feats by getting your secondary school to join Sky Sports Living for Sport.
Stars to watch
Andy Schooler picks out 10 non-British superstars to watch at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Mobile Services
Get news and premiership goals on your mobile or your handheld device or mobile phone
RSS Feeds
Feeds offer an easy way to keep up with Olympics throughout the day
Newsletter
Have the top news and columnists delivered to your inbox every morning
365 network
-
Websites
-
Partners
-
Betting & Gaming
-
Mobile, Fun & Games
Comments (103)
Carol Hayes says...
A lot of the Olympic competitors have to improve their performances in their own time, many of them using their own resources. It is unfair for them to have to compete against other competitors who like the tennis players and footballers are being paid ridiculous amounts of money for their sport. The olympics should be purley for the amateurs & keep the professionals out of it.
Posted 10:29 11th August 2008
William Tillotson says...
Anyone who thinks that the olympics are still run on an amateur basis is living in cloud cuckoo land. The competitors are sponsored by clothing and equipment manufacturers and in England's case by lottery funding. Even the selection of the venues is political. We are never going to be able to turn back the clock so let's stop all the pretence and welcome professionalism openly rather than pay lip service to amateurism
Posted 10:17 11th August 2008
Jeremy Baer says...
As Jason Clark says... An Olympic gold medal means the best of the best, not the best of the rest.
Posted 01:16 11th August 2008
James Adamson says...
People want to see the best and that is that. The fact they aren't getting paid put everyone on a equal playing field so to speak. Which is a nice change.
Posted 22:54 10th August 2008
Edric Hobbs says...
Dont make me laugh the competitors were supported by their city states in ancient Greece the Olympics have never been amateur.Lottery money supports most of the GB team and athletes have been paid for years .We are wasting billions to put on 2012 vwhilst the nhs and our schools fall apart and people die on waiting lists.Sport is a hobby not a real job just an ego trip for those who compete and get paid to much at the top
Posted 17:45 10th August 2008
Chris Littler says...
the olympics is probably the biggest sporting event in the world. It is designed for the best athletes to complete at the highest level, why shouldnt they be allowed to enter
Posted 17:22 10th August 2008
David Gibbons says...
imagine if as a sunday leaguer you could compete in the olympic. it could be the pinnacle of sport for amateurs. its much better than not entering a team at all. they should let me make a team with my mates and at least go out and try and play. bet i would pace them all
Posted 15:49 10th August 2008
Sport Star says...
a win is a win no matter its in worldcup,grandslam or olympics....
Posted 14:25 10th August 2008
M d Duffy says...
the olympics is all professional theres no such think as amateurs they all get paid full stop
Posted 13:48 10th August 2008
Graham Jones says...
marathon runners and other athletes seem to get around the payment issues dont they? large payouts for winning the london and ny marathons- why does this not break the spirit of amateurism?
Posted 12:28 10th August 2008
Jude C says...
The next question, if the likes of Golf and Cricket were to be included in the Olympics, would be which sports would be dropped. Baseball and Softball are to be dropped after 2008. This has a big knock on effect for these sports as sponsorship is largely directed towards olympic sports and also the exposure that is received through the olympics encourages youngsters to try new sports (cycling being one).
Posted 12:23 10th August 2008
Mark Wilson says...
being an arm chair sports man, I want to watch the best sports people in the world. If you took the pro's out or anyone that made money from the sport they are in, then it would take any entertainment out of the games, and I for one will lose interest in it. I don't want to watch second rate tennis or athletics, and I'm sure most of you don't. So a lot of people will stop watching, so in turn the Olympic will lose sponsors and money, and then no city or country will be able to afford to host the Olympics. So then the Olympics will die a slow and horrible death. At the end of the day they just want people to watch and their way to get people to watch, is to let the best sports people in.
Posted 12:06 10th August 2008
Wendy Wilson says...
if the olympics invited professionals to compete there would be no places for Amateurs. now if the professionals were to invest their money to support Amateurs training then that is a different matter. As for Amateurs being inferior All professional were Amateurs at one time!
Posted 12:02 10th August 2008
Gary Hunter says...
Why shouldn't top athletes be allowed to represent their country in the Olympics, why should we deny that right to someone who is good at what they do. Yes, maybe they earn a lot of money from their profession, but that doesn't mean that they don't love their sport, these athletes are there to win and i'm sure there is no better feeling than winning a gold medal for your country. In all interviews with these professionals leading up to the games every one of them has spoke with passion and with pride about representing their country, if they are proud of doing it, then they should be allowed to do it, without people criticising them just because they're good at what they do!
Posted 11:40 10th August 2008
Jennifer Ullah says...
Keep the olympics amateur, these athletes train very hard and sacrifice a lot for the honour of " going for gold" in the olympics, the professionals, in my opinion, have an unfair advantage.
Posted 11:18 10th August 2008
Kathryn Jones says...
I wouldn't like to see loads of professionals in the Olympics. Just look at the coverage of the last world cup - was all about the WAGS. The Olympics is about the sport and your country; not who's wearing what and going out where. Too many professionals brings celebrity and the Olympics isn't about that. I'd love to see Gerrard win a Gold Medal but the Champions league medals he has will surely be closest to his heart. Right I'm off to watch the Road Race ceremony, UK woman wins Gold. Woo!
Posted 11:12 10th August 2008
Ben Johnson says...
Are you trying to say that professional footballers and basketball players aren't 'proper' athletes...I hate this argument, high paid professional athletes work just as hard otherwise they wouldn't be at the pinnacle of their sport. I can guarentee in all cases these sportsmen would be playing at whatever level they could regardless of the money because of their love for the sport, the fact that they get paid a lot is a testament to their ability and how hard they've worked to get there. As for cricket being considered for an olympic sport, I just don't think its popularity in the world can justify it being worthy of an olympic medal. Not enough countries play competitively
Posted 10:04 10th August 2008
Paul Briody says...
Our canny scotch tennis star, who stands little chance anyway, should not even be in Bejing. Firstly, he hates the English. I'm sure that if he wins he will seek out a Scotish flag not a british one. If we English were black then Andy's comments would be deemed racist. Secondly, Tennis is NOT an olympic event. The Olympics should not even attempt to include all sports. As for 'professional' sports...what a farce. Where their is gold there has been considerable backing!
Posted 03:57 10th August 2008
Ali S says...
I agree with Robert Powell and Oliver Farr on this one. The Olympics should be the ultimate prize in your field. We know this is the case for sprinters, distant runners, swimmers, gymnasts, etc. Is this the case for footballers, basketball players, Tennis players etc? You don't see professional boxers in the Olympics, so why professional Tennis players? To the average person, it looks again like another case of money dictating things. Either bring the Football World Cup in line with the Olympics or simply keep the Olympics pure. The latter is my choice.
Posted 00:15 10th August 2008
Valerie Hudson says...
The Olympics should be only open to amateurs. Surely this is what the Olmpics are for? How else are we to watch and appreciate up and coming talent. I can see the day coming when we have two Olympics one for the amateurs and one for Prima Donna professionals who feel deprived at not being an Olypian.
Posted 23:05 9th August 2008