• London Olympics 2012

Proctor shrugs off 'plastic Brit' tag

Shara Proctor celebrates her new British indoor record © Getty Images

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New British indoor record holder Shara Proctor is hoping to prove a star turn at London 2012, despite the long jumper being labelled a 'plastic Brit' in some quarters.

Proctor has been among a number of athletes criticised in certain sections of the press for their decision to take British citizenship ahead of this summer's Olympic Games, potentially preventing a 'homegrown' athlete from getting a chance to compete in a domestic Games.

Proctor is from Anguilla - a tiny British overseas territory that does not have an Olympic organisation and is thus not recognised by the International Olympic Committee. That means athletes from the Caribbean island cannot compete at the Olympics - something Proctor, ranked fifth in the world, was unwilling to accept.

Eligible for a British passport, Proctor skipped the 2010 Commonwealth Games (and a probable gold medal) in order to qualify to compete for Team GB in time for London 2012.

After breaking the long-standing British indoor record over the weekend, Proctor appears a strong medal contender at the Games but nonetheless continues to face questions about her right to represent her new country.

"Everybody has an opinion," Proctor says. "It doesn't make me angry, because I am a very calm person. I just use it as motivation to do well. Everybody doesn't know my background, or my reasons for being a British athlete, so I just have to brush it off and do what I have to do.

"I wouldn't be able to compete in the Olympics for Anguilla. And you know that is every athlete's dream, to be in the Olympics, so I had to do what was best for me."

Proctor broke the 28-year-old British indoor record twice in Birmingham - ultimately by ten centimetres to 6.80 metres - but believes she still has a lot of improving to do as she targets the domestic outdoor record of 6.90m over the rest of the year.

"I still have a lot of stuff to work on, that wasn't the prettiest jump," she said. "I am looking for big things, I could definitely jump a lot further. That 6.90, British record outdoors, I am going for that."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.