IOC president Jacques Rogge is fine with athletes who switch countries for political or family reasons.
LAUSANNE: International Olympic Committee
(IOC) President Jacques Rogge is concerned about Olympic athletes who
switch nationalities for personal or material gain, an issue that has
put several members of the British team under media scrutiny ahead of
the London Games.
The Belgian said on Wednesday
that some athletes have 'legitimate' motives for changing nationalities,
including family reasons, or a lack of financial support in their
countries of birth. But he criticised those who change allegiance
'because there is a bigger gain to be made'.
'I have reservations in some cases of
athletes, who obviously don't lack any support emanating from their
local sporting and governmental committees, who still change
nationalities,' he said at the close of a two-day IOC executive board
meeting in Lausanne.
'We cannot legally stop that because it is a sovereign matter. But let me tell you that, very frankly, I don't love that.'
He was speaking in the wake of a media storm
in Britain over what the tabloid press dubbed 'Plastic Brits,'
foreign-born athletes who changed nationality, and are now competing for
the British national team. However, several have family connections
with Britain, and Rogge said he was not singling them out.
There have been other high-profile cases in
recent years, including African runners and Bulgarian weightlifters who
received lucrative financial deals to switch nationalities to compete
for Gulf states.
Athletes usually have to wait three years
after new citizenship is acquired before competing for their new
country. The waiting period can be reduced to two years if both national
federations agree.
Attention in Britain has centred on several
members of the track and field team, especially United States-born
Tiffany Porter, who won a silver medal in the 60m hurdles at last
weekend's World Indoor Championships in Istanbul.
After being named captain of the British
women's team on the eve of the meet, she was asked by reporters if she
knew the words to God Save The Queen, and was challenged to sing the
anthem. She declined.
Porter was raised in Michigan, but has a
British mother and a Nigerian father, and has held a British passport
since birth. She represented the US as a junior before switching to
compete for Britain in 2010.
Referring to Porter, Rogge said: 'I believe
the athlete has a mother or a father who is of British nationality.
There is already then a good reason maybe to switch nationality.'
However, critics have accused her of switching allegiance to make it easier to gain Olympic selection.
The British team also included Cuban-born
Yamile Aldama, who won gold in the triple jump; US-born 400m runner
Shana Cox and long jumper Shara Proctor of Anguilla. One of Britain's
best hopes for a gold medal at the London Olympics is Somali-born
distance runner Mo Farah.
Aldama, who has also competed for Sudan,
received British nationality two years ago. She has a British husband
and has lived in the country since 2001.
On Tuesday, the IOC board officially approved
her nationality switch, clearing the way for her to compete at the
Olympics. The IOC waived the three-year waiting period because of the
agreement of both national bodies and the international federation.
'I understand the fully legitimate reasons
like study, or marriage, or family reasons,' Rogge said. 'The issue of
the athletes of the poor countries who get no support, you can
understand. Maybe you don't love it, but you can understand it.
'The athletes from other countries who just switch for money reasons, you cannot stop it, but we don't like it.'