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Um..... well, Rusty, I don't think the issue is cut and dried.
It's a difficult one, there are pros and cons,
I agree with you that "nationality" should be your bloodline , rather than where you are born.

Having said that, my eldest grandson has duel nationality as he was born in New York.
I don't really understand how it works? You say your grandchildren are entitled to Irish passports as you were born in Donegal. but not their children.
Why not their children?

But I digress.......I can see how incomers might be resented if not born here - but I can also see that we might need the added expertise - and the funding from winning more medals - if he sport is to flourish.
As you say, a tricky one.....

I remember Zola Budd- she ran with bare feet! What a lot of controversy and bitterness there was at the time about her running for GB.
And then for her to do a volte face and say she is South African....
I also take your point about Chris Froome.
And then there's Greg Rusedki. I can't remember the details , but wasn't he Canadian and then he played tennis for Britain - through his grandmother or something similar, was it?

I think maybe it's ok to represent GB if you hold duel nationality? it's not like importing and paying for someone to play for the country as in football for instance?
Do you reckon?

Irish passports are available down to a grandchild of an Irish citizen. Only two of my grandchildren have ever visited the oul' sod, but they are all entitled to Irish passports. Not sure what it is like in GB.
I do not hold with nationality being granted to improve our chances of sporting excellence.
But it must happen throughout the world.
I am certain there have been Kenyans running for Middle Eastern countries at Olympics.
I don't think you would have to look too hard in the USA for athletes etc from other countries.
And the great di Stefano played football for at least two countries. And I suspect several Hungarians did the same after the Russian invasion.
Nationality is tricky.
Laura Robson was born in Australia.
Aussie or British?

Were my child born overseas out of Britain, I would want him or her to have British nationality,not that of the country where the birth took place.
In Laura's case,does she have duel nationality then? Did her parents have to apply for British nationality for her, assuming that they themselves are British? That is what my daughter and her husband had to for their firstborn
Oh.

Sorry, cat sent the post prematurely!
So continuing.....
I was going to say, Oh, it's a potential minefield!

Bedtime! It's gone very much cooler here - I'd say a ten degree drop in temperature ? Better for sleeping, hopefully !
Talk tomorrow ! Night!

Good morning, Elle.
Now this is from Wikipedia, so could be wrong.
Laura was born in Australia to two Australian parents.
To me, that makes her Australian?
Unless, they emigrated to GB and got citizenship.
I shall explore more later today.
I have not slept yet.
Been hunting for a book on 'La Pasionaria', Dolores Ibarruri.

Good Morning, Rusty!
A lovely day here but much cooler! temperature only expected to hit a high of 20C - comparatively chilly at only 16C first thing this morning!! but much pleasanter! I like it like this!
I'll be interested to hear what you unearth about Laura - I can only assume that her parents became British citizens?
'La Pasionaria'..... The Passionflower.......all I know about her is that there is a statue in Glasgow commemorating her from the Spanish Civil War. And I only know this from a dim memory of my Glaswegian cousin's mentioning it.
What did she do? Was she a resistance leader? or some such?
I know very little about the Spanish Civil War, other than Ernest Hemingway's fighting in it and " For Whom the Bell Tolls " written as a result.
Did you find a suitable book?
Well, dog -groomers this morning - time for the dog to have a bath and trim. She is 'shaggy' so needs trimming about every two months.
I'm presuming your plans include more cycling?! I'm for the tennis this afternoon!

Good morning all, a very nice morning here.

Returning to last night's discussion about dual nationality, I have two personnal examples to submt:

1 - My first husband was and still is British (Military Police) - After I married him, I was entitled to dual nationality because of my marrying a British subject.
I did not bother because I could not see the point at the time - I was young and did not see that dual nationality can have benefits.

2 - My dear late husband was American but with Scottish origins from both great grand parents and grand parents; he could not have dual nationality because you either are or you are not American. BUT because of his Scottish blood, he was allowed in the rugby London Scottish team which at the time was very strict regarding proving scots origins.
By the same token, after marrying him, I could have become American but that would have entailed renouncing my French nationality which I certainly was not prepared to do!

Now all that was a number of years ago and things may well have changed since, but perhaps not so much.

Good morning, Elle and Pigale.
Nice day here.
Elle, I will look into the Laura Robson thing later.
But, in her case, as I mentioned previously about Murray, she represents herself at Wimbledon, not a specific country. Now, bear with me on this one, but this is the reason I would support Yannick Noah (if he were a bit younger!) rather than Murray. Just like Noah better than Murray.
No, I know only the barest detail about La Pasionaria.
Most of my knowledge of the Civil War comes from reading Laurie Lee, and also reading the history of Barcelona FC. Hope you have a good tennis day.
I have a Tour to watch!

Pigale, I suspect different countries have different rules.
Alfredo di Stefano, born in Argentina, became a citizen of Spain, but played international football for Argentina, Colombia, and Spain.
In the case of children born to a parent with claims to a dual nationality, I think they should be left free to choose which one is right for them.
In my family it has worked out very well for them.
They hold GB passports while never forgetting where they came from.
And on to Mur de Huy!
Should be good.
And I hope moaning-face Cavendish does not reach Huy in the leading group!
Just a thought, Pigale. Maybe if you sent an email to Norah/Ash about your problem accessing the site, they may offer a solution?

Norah and Ash always advise using either Firefox or Google, whenever anyone has problems connecting.
Good day all.
Looking forward to Le Tour later...but ..work to be done this morning now the air is cooler