Im not in favour of it at all.if she wanted to compete for Australia and stick with them fair enough.
But she wants to then compete for Ireland again.
any opinions?
Im not in favour of it at all.if she wanted to compete for Australia and stick with them fair enough.
But she wants to then compete for Ireland again.
any opinions?
Lots of athletes compete for different countries in the CG. Like every Brit. Radcliffe will compete for England in Melbourne, then the UK later on. Taneisha Robinson competed for England last time around and still competes for Ireland. If Sonia has dual qualification, why not let her compete in the CG? I can't see the harm. Melbourne is her home half the time.
not got a problem with it - but England is a part of the Uk, whereas last i looked Australia wasnt part of Eire. think its a bit different....
If she can compete for Australia then revert back to Ireland, I don't see any reason why she shouldn't. She is at the end of her career and the CG is down the road from where she lives most of the year. She will be supported well in Australia and may recieve very good sponsorship from local companies. Athletics is an individual sport, you have to what you want and what is best for yourself. Irish athletics wouldn't look after her when she stops running. If she wants to return to Ireland that is a bonus, she has done enough for Irish athletic already.
The US does recognize dual citizenship which is why someone born in Europe can compete for the Commonwealth Games say, ( if they were good enough), and potentially run for the United States, but I agree Austrailia is about as far removed from Ireland as one could imagine. Besides, you should be loyal to the country you are a citizen of....
Sarah wrote:
you should be loyal to the country you are a citizen of....
Why??
Sarah wrote:
The US does recognize dual citizenship which is why someone born in Europe can compete for the Commonwealth Games say, ( if they were good enough), and potentially run for the United States, but I agree Austrailia is about as far removed from Ireland as one could imagine. Besides, you should be loyal to the country you are a citizen of....
Sarah, I'm pretty sure this is wrong. 1) The US asks you to renounce your allegiance to any other country, so you can not be a dual national. and 2) I beleive you have two wait a certain period of time before representing another country in an IAAF event. I could be wrong and rules are made to be broken, but my ex was told that if she represented Australia she would be ineligible for further US representation for a period of something like 18 months.
Ray you could well be right... I do know that when I became a US citizen in 1988 that I definatly had to give up all ties to any other country ie England in this case. But since then I have talked to athletes that tell me the rules have changed and dual citizenship is allowable.I have used a US passport and gave up the Brit one the day I was sworn in so I do feel very loyal to my adopted home country, while appreciating the roots I was born to and raised in. I am happy to stand corrected if wrong :o)
ray wrote:
Sarah wrote:The US does recognize dual citizenship which is why someone born in Europe can compete for the Commonwealth Games say, ( if they were good enough), and potentially run for the United States, but I agree Austrailia is about as far removed from Ireland as one could imagine. Besides, you should be loyal to the country you are a citizen of....
Sarah, I'm pretty sure this is wrong. 1) The US asks you to renounce your allegiance to any other country, so you can not be a dual national. and 2) I beleive you have two wait a certain period of time before representing another country in an IAAF event. I could be wrong and rules are made to be broken, but my ex was told that if she represented Australia she would be ineligible for further US representation for a period of something like 18 months.