LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) ― 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 before the London Games.
Rogge said 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 criticized those who change allegiance “because there is a bigger gain to be made.”
“I have reservations in some case of athletes who obviously don’t lack any support emanating from their local sporting and governmental committees who still change nationalities,” Rogge said at the close of a two-day International Olympic Committee 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.”
Rogge spoke 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 competing for the 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 countries.
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 centered on several members of the track and field team, especially U.S.-born Tiffany Porter, who won a silver medal in the 60-meter hurdles at last weekend’s world indoor championships in Istanbul.
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