Juan: Unlike the ancient Olympic games on which they are based, the modern Olympics include professional as well as amateur athletes  But since amateurs rarely have the financial or material resources available to professionals, it is unlikely that the amateurs will ever offer a serious challenge to professionals in those Olympic events in which amateurs compete against professionals  Hence, the presence of professional athletes violates the spirit of fairness essential to the games  Michiko: But the idea of the modern Olympics is to showcase the world' s finest athletes, regardless of their backgrounds or resources
Hence, professionals should be allowed to compete
whether the participation of both amateur and professional athletes is in accord with the ideals of the modern Olympics