Yes, pro athletes are allowed to compete in the Olympics

The best athletes in the world come together to compete against each other in the Olympics every two years. Some people, however, say they thought the Olympics was just for amateur athletes. 

“Pro athletes playing in Olympics games - Why are they allowed to take part?” VERIFY reader Victoria emailed us. “I thought Olympics are only for amateur or non-professionals.”

THE QUESTION

Are professional athletes allowed to compete in the Olympics?

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

Yes, professional athletes are allowed to compete in the Olympics.

WHAT WE FOUND

While the Olympics were at one time limited to amateur athletes, the competition is now open to professional athletes.

Until 1971, the Olympics had strict rules prohibiting professionals from Olympic competition, according to an article in the Journal of Olympic History. Between 1971 and 1988, the IOC slowly relaxed the rules restricting the Olympics to amateurs.

In 1988, the IOC amended the Olympic Charter to deliberately pass the decision on amateurism over to the sports federations, the Olympic History article said.

According to the article, “an explicit approval of professional athletes has never been published by the IOC.” Instead, the IOC simply did away with the rule requiring athletes to be amateurs.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says an athlete must comply with the Olympic Charter and the rules of the International Federation (IF) governing their sport in order to participate in the Olympics.

Today, the Olympic Charter does not mandate that athletes must be amateurs. In fact, the Olympic Charter does not give the IOC the right to set the qualification criteria for athletes.

“Each IF establishes its sport’s rules for participation in the Olympic Games, including qualification criteria, in accordance with the Olympic Charter,” the Charter says.

This means the eligibility of professionals is determined for each sport based on the rules of each of their International Federations.