As seen on Swiminfo today.......so much for citizenship eh?! And we complain about masters "superteams"!
Draganja Changing Allegiances to Qatar
ZAGREB, Croatia, December 7. WHILE South Africa’s Roland Schoeman has spurned an offer to switch his allegiance to Qatar, the same cannot be said for Croatian Duje Draganja. The sprint sensation, a 24-year-old, recently accepted a lucrative offer to swim for the Middle Eastern nation, which has been chasing high-profile athletes by offering significant sums of money.
Before accepting the offer from Qatar, which is believed to be at least $1 million, Draganja gave Croatian swimming officials the opportunity to keep him swimming under his homeland’s flag. Ultimately, though, the Arab nation won out and Draganja is expected to race for Qatar at next year’s World Short Course Championships in Shanghai, China.
Parents
Former Member
Frank:
Yes Michael grew up in California and does have dual-citizenship, yet ethnically he is a Serb. My point is, I doubt you will ever see an athlete from an Orthodox heritage (Serb, Russian, Greek) swim for an Arab country no matter what the financial incentive is.
Frank:
Yes Michael grew up in California and does have dual-citizenship, yet ethnically he is a Serb. My point is, I doubt you will ever see an athlete from an Orthodox heritage (Serb, Russian, Greek) swim for an Arab country no matter what the financial incentive is.
