Jacques Rogge, the president of the IOC, has entered the debate about switching nationality in sport, admitting that he did not like athletes who changed countries for “a bigger gain” but was powerless to stop the trend.
The Belgian said that he recognised “legitimate” reasons for changing countries of allegiance, under circumstances such as marriage or relocation because of a job or studies. He added that it was understandable — although not necessarily palatable — that athletes from poor countries, where they receive little to no funding to pursue their sport, would want to move to a more developed support structure if the opportunity arose.
Referring particularly to the so-called “Plastic Brits” row, which followed an influx of foreigners to the Great Britain team before the London Games, he said he believed that the athletes in question had “good reason” to switch allegiances.
The most high-profile case is that of Tiffany Porter, the Michigan-born hurdler who has a British mother and has chosen lately to represent Britain. She won a silver medal in the 60 metres hurdles at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul last week and captained the team.
In answer to a specific question about British athletes, Rogge said: “I believe that the athlete you are speaking about has a mother or a father who is of British nationality, so maybe there is already a good reason to switch nationality.”
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However, he said that he “did not love” athletes who swapped countries for monetary gain and that he had reservations about examples where the individuals were fully supported in their native country.
“Legally we cannot stop it, but it does not mean we love it. It is a sovereign matter,” he said. “Athletes who switch allegiance for money reasons, we don’t like it.”
Other athletes drafted into the Britain team include Yamilé Aldama, the Cuban-born triple jumper, Shana Cox, the American 400 metres runner, and Shara Proctor, the long jumper from Anguilla.
Two Ukrainian women who had hoped to be named as part of the Britain wrestling team learnt this month that their applications are unlikely to be approved by the Government.
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