'Plastic Brits' will learn UK anthem for Olympics

Published September 19, 2015

Feb. 23, 2012: In this file photo the London 2012 Olympic Stadium is seen at about sunset, with the partially completed ArcelorMittal Orbit at the Olympic Park in London.

American-raised hurdler Tiffany Porter was at the center of the so-called "Plastic Brits" debate after she was named Britain's captain for the indoor world championships in March.

Porter was asked at the championships in Istanbul, Turkey, if she knew the words to Britain's national anthem and was then prodded to sing it. She refused, saying she knew the words and that reciting it was unnecessary. She went on to win a silver medal in the 60-meter hurdles.

Porter was born and raised in the United States to a British mother and a Nigerian father. She's held a British passport since she was a baby and represented the United States as a junior before opting for Britain last year.

At the London Games that begin July 27, Porter will be one of eight foreign-born track athletes on the 90-member athletics team to compete for Britain.

"They know the words, or they will," said Britain's athletics team head coach Charles van Commenee. "I'm not going to rehearse everybody because we have 90 athletes, but people that matter ... let's say the relevant ones."

Van Commenee, who is Dutch, said he only knows the first two lines of his own national anthem.

Cuban-born triple jumper Yamile Aldama is another so-called Plastic Brit, who won a gold medal for Britain at the indoor championships.

Aldama is married to a Briton but previously chose to compete for Sudan because of complications in gaining British citizenship. She finally got her British passport two years ago.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/plastic-brits-will-learn-uk-anthem-for-olympics