Knowing UK anthem not criteria for US-born captain

UK athletics chief Charles van Commenee insisted Thursday it was not important if the team's new US-born captain knew the British anthem or not.

Tiffany Porter, born in Michigan to Nigerian and English parents, represented the United States as a junior but changed allegiances to Britain in 2010.

But many cynics dubbed her a "plastic Brit" who has only changed nationality because she had little or no prospect of competing for the US team at the London Olympics.

That has not stopped Van Commenee, himself a Dutchman, from naming Porter as British team captain for the three-day World Indoor Athletics Championships that kick off in Istanbul on Friday.

"The team captain has been announced: Tiffany Porter. She is well respected among the team members," he said.

"She has got the seniority and is seen as an authority in her field, so she's very capable of fulfilling this role and I'm happy she accepted that position."

The first question put to Porter at a press conference Thursday in which she was unveiled as captain was whether she knew the "first few lines" of God Save the Queen.

"I do know the verse, I know the whole paragraph of the Queen," Porter said. "I'm not known for my singing ability."

And the words without the music? "I don't think that's necessary," Porter replied after an embarrassed silence.

"It's a huge honour and I'm very, very excited," she said of the captaincy. "When Charles approached me about it, it was a very easy yes and I'm very excited to do it."

Van Commenee later added: "I choose a team captain for her leadership skills, and her athletic skills and her credibility, not for her ability to memorise words or her vocal skills."