Jan 082012
British wrestling chief Colin Nicholson has hit back at claims that competitors from eastern European countries have switched allegiance to Britain to ‘steal the Olympic dreams’ of home-grown talents.
Britain’s seven-strong world-class performance squad includes three wrestlers born in Ukraine and two from Bulgaria, prompting accusations that they are ‘plastic Brits’.
But Nicholson said: ‘The suggestion that they are on the British team at the expense of home-grown wrestlers is utterly incorrect.
‘We select the best available and, if British wrestlers are good enough, they get picked. Unfortunately, many don’t meet the performance level required.’
British Wrestling recruited a number of eastern Europeans in 2007 as sparring partners at the British Wrestling Academy in Salford. Some have since married British partners, settled here and compete for Britain.
‘They were not brought here to take anyone’s place or steal Olympic dreams,’ said Nicholson. ‘But it was impossible for British wrestling to provide a world class programme in any other way because we didn’t have the international talent at home or the finances to take the team abroad.’
Ukraine-born Yana Stadnik, who married British wrestling champion Leon Rattigan last year, is relying on Home Secretary Theresa May to speed up her application for citizenship so she can compete in London.
‘History shows that if you medal in one Olympics you are more likely to medal in future Olympics,’ said Nicholson. ‘She has contributed to the sport in Britain massively, but we will abide by whatever is decided by the Government.’
A Great article in todays Mail………
British wrestling is still struggling with the fall-out from its brief moment in the sun. It was this unfamiliar focus that comprehensively exposed the way the sport had betrayed home-grown athletes in favour of conveniently imported Plastic Brits from Eastern Europe.
From the moment when Raphael Martinetti, president of Fila, the sport’s world governing body, set foot on British soil and denounced the plan, British wrestling was in a moral bodylock.
The majority of the British team will be recruited from Ukraine and Bulgaria this summer, while domestic wrestlers like Chloe Spiteri, born a stone’s throw from the Olympic stadium, have been cut adrift.
Once this policy was brought into focus by the test event, the controversy grew so quickly that Hugh Robertson, the Sports Minister, has since spoken of his reluctance to fast-track citizenship requests to benefit potential Olympic athletes. Without government help, Britain’s wrestling team will be hopelessly undermined.
Meanwhile, Spiteri — a tremendous role model who battled learning difficulties and epilepsy as a child, yet still earned 10 GCSEs and a place at university – has become a difficult voice of dissent. Her public disappointment at what is seen as preferential treatment for the more gifted foreign recruits brought a robust response from Colin Nicholson, chief executive of British Wrestling.
‘There would be bigger questions to answer if British Wrestling spent funds on someone of Spiteri’s standard,’ Nicholson sneered.
And, in doing so, proved he still does not get it. The spirit of Olympic competition continues to elude wrestling; the condemnation of the public, the government, the governing body of the sport, has passed Nicholson by. There most certainly would not have been an outcry if British Wrestling had backed an athlete who wasn’t the best.
We’re not stupid. We like winners, obviously, but not at any cost. If Spiteri is as good as Britain can produce, so be it. We do not expect every home competitor to medal. Some will, some won’t, some will flop horribly. That’s sport.
If home-schooled wrestlers are inferior in comparison to the ranks of East European opponents, then we must strive to improve our standards, not distribute citizenships at the airport in Kiev.
Importing a gang of Ukrainian ringers is no reflection of the strength of British wrestling, merely of the desperation of the administrators to mask existing inadequacies and deliver false success. Embarrassed by wrestling’s weakness, the executives worked the system to appear a match for the international elite.
Spiteri and her contemporaries, the true standard bearers of British wrestling, have ended up with noses pressed against the glass, discarded at their own Olympics.
If British Wrestling can barely field a squad without special citizenship dispensation for imported athletes, there will be a bitter backlash and Nicholson’s callous rubbishing of Spiteri will return to haunt him.
Read more: Martin-Samuel: Mail Online: His name might be Ruslan, but there’s nothing plastic about this Brit
It is obvious the BWA have wasted every penny they have spent on bringing the girls over here. There has been so many disparaging articles in the national press about these “Plastic Brits” That even if the girls manage to get passports on time and manage to win a medal, the medals will be seen as worthless and will only once again highlight the disgraceful way the BWA have acted in this instance.
The BWA are now in a lose lose situation. Martinetti has made his thoughts clear on the way the BWA have handled this and it did not make pleasant reading.
The fact that there is only a handful of people who even speak out about this, shows to me that there are far too many people within British Wrestling who have a vested interest with the BWA and dare not for the life of them speak up.
Young British wrestlers like Michael Grundy, Craig Pilling, Thomas Denham and many more lads like them, could have benefitted greatly from the increased funding available on the run up to the Olympics, these lads are integral parts of British grass roots clubs and are the future lifeblood of the sport in this country. They have all been s**t upon from a great height by the BWA and instead of leaving a lasting legacy, they are leaving an absolute shambles.
Heads have got to roll…………
It’s hard to know where to start with that nonsense from the BWA CEO, but here are the most obvious responses that spring to mind:
“We select the best available and, if British wrestlers are good enough, they get picked. Unfortunately, many don’t meet the performance level required”
BWA has now had more than 5 years of a level of performance funding that was unimaginable before London won the 2012 Olympics. If a programme had been put in place to identify the best British talent, with good coaches and support services, then there’s no reason why a decent number would not have improved enough to qualify for London 2012.
“They were not brought here to take anyone’s place or steal Olympic dreams,’ said Nicholson. ‘But it was impossible for British wrestling to provide a world class programme in any other way because we didn’t have the international talent at home or the finances to take the team abroad”
Firstly, if the 2 female Ukrainian wrestlers were genuinely brought here as training partners, why were requests for them to travel occasionally to Scotland (and possibly other areas of the UK) refused, at a time when there were very few, if any, British female wrestlers training at the Academy inSalford?
Secondly, and possibly the most ridiculous comment of all made in the article above, the UK Sport Olympic funding provided, for the first time ever, the resources to ‘take the team abroad’ to gain necessary experience. Those within BWA who are responsible for the way that funding was used have squandered the best opportunity for British Wrestling in its history.
The last time I posted something on here which questioned the official BWA line, it was deleted almost immediately. It will be interesting to see how long this one lasts. I’m about to repost it on Talk British Wrestling just in case!