Plastic(ine) Brits

This chapter reflects on how newspaper narratives framed athletes Mo Farah and Tiffany Porter in the London 2012 Olympic Games. Both of these athletes were born outside of the UK and became prominent figures in newspaper discussions of the topic of ‘Plastic Brits’. Through Farah's success and embracing his ‘Britishness’, he was portrayed in a positive way. In contrast, Porter, who failed to qualify for the final and did not show deference to signifiers of national belonging, was not accepted in the same way. In extending the discussion on the topic, we then look at how the skateboarder Sky Brown was portrayed almost a decade later. Brown was not subject to the same scrutiny about her dual national identity as Porter had been and the focus was largely about her courage and skateboarding skills.