Then the Soviet Union and its 14 Communist allies entered the games. All their athletes were fully supported by their governments. None ever held a job. They won most of the gold, silver and bronze during the 1970s and 1980s. It was unfair.
Some people suggest that the Olympics never had amateurs.
Harold Abrahams had a very very rich father. In my opinion, the spirit of the olympic games as been lost because of the bombardment of corporations and corporate sponsorship. Athletes from the U. S., Russia and the other major European countries get corporations to sponsor them so they can train all year. In the communists state, the government is the sponsor. These athletes train all year while athletes in lesser known countries struggle to get a minimum amount of training in.