Three Siblings Compete for Two Countries at Winter Olympics

Feb. 21, 2010— -- Brother and sister ice dancers Chris and Cathy Reed were born in Kalamazoo, Mich., and ever since they started skating as children, they've had dreams of Olympic gold. Now, they're competing in the Vancouver Winter Games, but not for the United States.

Instead of representing America's red, white and blue, the duo is skating for the red and white of Japan.

Their mother is Japanese, and their father is American. They used their dual citizenship to compete for their mother's homeland.

"We are Japanese. We compete for Japan. We're here for Japan," Cathy said.

Do they want to beat the Americans? "Of course!" she said, with a laughs.

The Reed siblings are not the first athletes to compete for a country where they weren't born. WNBA player Becky Hammon competed for the Russian basketball team at the 2008 summer games in Beijing, China, after being snubbed by the U.S. squad. She signed to play professionally in Moscow.

At this year's games, Vancouver-born moguls skier Dale Begg-Smith switched allegiance to ski for Australia, drawing criticism from Canadians who called him a traitor.

"If you want to get there, and you want to have this experience, I certainly don't begrudge them," said Christine Brennan, a USA Today sports columnist, about athletes who opt to represent other countries so they can get to the Olympics.