Plastic Brit, orPlastic Briton,[1] is a pejorative term used to describe athletes who choose to representGreat Britain in international sport despite having personal connections to another country. Some media critics believe it undermines the purpose of international sport for the purpose of medals.[2]
The term "Plastic Brit" is derived fromPlastic Paddy, which is used to describe people who claim to be Irish despite not residing in that country.[3] While the concept gained the British media's attention in the run-up to the2012 Summer Olympics, it had also been used in describing members of other British sporting teams. England's cricket team had a perceived problem of having too many foreign-born players.[4] TheEngland and Wales Cricket Board responded to the issue by lengthening the residency period before a foreign player can be accepted to play for England to seven years.[5]
The term was popularised in the United Kingdom through its usage in theDaily Mail newspaper to describe athletes born outside the UK who had been selected to represent Great Britain at theLondon 2012 Summer Olympics.[6] The term originally had foundations fromSouth African-bornZola Budd having her British citizenship application fast tracked in order to represent Great Britain at the1984 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles.[7]
The term was used to describe a number ofamateur wrestlers such asMyroslav Dykun andYana Stadnik who had not been born in the UK and had been givenBritish citizenship. Only one wrestler had competed for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics,Ukrainian-bornOlga Butkevych.[8] British Wrestling had the majority of its host nation berths removed by theBritish Olympic Association because of British Wrestling's failing to reach set performance targets.[9] The term; "Plastic Brit" was also used when there were calls forArsenal's Spanish goalkeeperManuel Almunia to play for theEngland national football team in 2009.[3]
It was argued by some newspaper reporters that selecting athletes born outside of the UK was discriminatory against British-born athletes and was against the spirit of the Olympics.[10] In 2012, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) imposed a mandatory three-year waiting period before athletes could compete in the Olympics for another country.[11] In response,International Olympic Committee chairmanJacques Rogge said, "Then there are cases where there is support [for athletes competing for other countries] but they go because there is a bigger gain [for the athlete] in another country. Legally we can't stop it but it doesn't mean we love it."[11] In 2015, the term was also erroneously levelled at sprinterZharnel Hughes by some newspapers despite Hughes having British citizenship by virtue of being born inAnguilla, aBritish Overseas Territory without IOC recognition.[12]
The term "Plastic Brit" has been criticised in the British media. TheDaily Telegraph suggested that fans overlook athletes' places of birth if they perform well for Great Britain.[3]The Guardian newspaper criticised theDaily Mail's usage of the term, saying that the definition of a "Plastic Brit" was inconsistent and that under some definitions, some British-born athletes such asRyan Giggs would be classed as "Plastic Brits" for failing to sing "God Save the Queen".[6] TheDaily Mirror newspaper also said that theDaily Mail, along with other newspapers, had supported the selection of Zola Budd to represent Great Britain at the 1984 Olympic Games.[7]The Independent newspaper said that a third of Great Britain's gold medal winners at the Olympics and Paralympic games had a non-British parent or had been born outside of the UK.[13]
A number of athletes were also critical of the term. Triple jumperYamilé Aldama, who had been described as a "Plastic Brit", openly criticised the term in an article inThe Guardian newspaper. She said, "I have lived in this country for 11 years, I am married to a British man, I have British children, I train under a British coach, at a British club. This is my home. What are they talking about?".[14] She also said that a number of other athletes, including Farah andKevin Pietersen—who had represented Great Britain and theEngland cricket team respectively—had not been born in the United Kingdom but were not branded as "Plastic Brits".[14] Marathon runnerPaula Radcliffe also criticised the term, asking for Great Britain supporters at the Olympics to support every athlete representing Great Britain, regardless of their countries of origin.[15] Long-distance runnerMo Farah, when asked by a journalist if he should run forSomalia, said, "Look mate, this is my country. This is where I grew up, this is where I started life. This is my country and when I put on my Great Britain vest I'm proud. I'm very proud."[16]Fijian-born Paralympic discus throwerDerek Derenalagi said in theEvening Standard that he was a "Titanium Brit" after he lost his legs in an explosion while serving with theBritish Army.[17]