Even before Zola Budd had a British passport thrust into her hands in 1984, the trading of nationalities was becoming commonplace in elite sport. However, Australia, habitually successful pickpocketers of Russian talent, are in a tug-of-war over Tatiana Borodulina, a speedskater who wore Russia’s colours at the Winter Olympic Games in 2006 but is being groomed as an Aussie.

Russia has offered Borodulina money and a house, but she has left behind family, boyfriend and an industrial Siberian town for Brisbane. All she needs now is the Australian passport. Her problem is the new four-year residency rule, but Australian sports authorities are so hellbent on fielding her at the Vancouver Olympics next year that a meeting has been tabled with Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister, with the request that Borodulina be the catalyst to change the Citizenship Act to allow exceptions in special cases.

Never mind the PM’s influence, it appears the Russians will lose her. Borodulina has joined the Australian Reserve Forces, which seemed an unusual way to prepare for an Olympics, until it transpired that six months’ service makes her exempt from the four-year queue.

Phelps looks to raise his game

The medal count suggests that he was doing OK, but not content with winning eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics last summer, Michael Phelps is to change his freestyle technique. Like Nick Faldo or Tiger Woods when they changed their golf swings, Phelps is in search of perfection.

“It’s a significant change,” he said this week. “You’ll be able to tell exactly what I did as soon as I take my first stroke.”

Phelps returns to competition next month. However, he is receiving more media attention on the question of whether or not he is dating Carrie Prejean, aka Miss California.

Prejean was runner-up in the Miss USA final last Sunday, when she apparently blew her chances by declaring her opposition to gay marriage.

Sumo wrestlers get drugs tested

There is no stone now unturned. After a marijuana scandal, random drugs testing in Japan began this week in sumo wrestling.