Matthew Richardson packed up his Australian home before Paris Olympics with eye on defection to Great Britain

Matthew Richardson won three medals in Australian colours at the Paris Olympics. But he had already packed his bags Down Under in preparation for his shock defection.

Former Australian sprint track cyclist Matthew Richardson has revealed he went behind AusCycling’s back prior to the Paris Olympics to line up his shock switch to compete for Great Britain in international events.

By the time he reached Paris, he had already packed up his Australian home.

Speaking to the UK’s Telegraph, Richardson said he met with Great Britain’s assistant men’s sprint coach Jon Norfolk in February’s Track Nations Cup in Adelaide. The pair met again in March alongside British Cycling performance director Stephen Park in Hong Kong.

Fearing the axe from Australia’s Olympic team, he kept these meetings private.

“I was out in Hong Kong with Australia but sneaking off to have a little secret meeting, and then going back,” Richardson said. “It was the only way I could do it.”

“I had to keep it that way, in case of possible deselection or anything like that.

“I’m sure they wouldn’t have. Cycling Australia have been great, but it was tricky. We’d sit down and have meetings about post-Olympics and what the next steps were going to be, and I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Oh, this is going to be hard, really hard’.

“As I say, I expect some people to be unhappy or disappointed or sad or frustrated or whatever the emotion is. It’s understandable. But I’ll try and keep everything as positive as possible. Otherwise it will kind of eat away at me a little bit.”

Matthew Richardson will compete for Great Britain from now on. Picture: AAP

Richardson won two silvers medals at velodrome at the recent Paris Olympics in the men’s sprint and keirin, as well as a bronze as part of the team sprint.

Richardson was born in England and moved to Western Australia at the age of nine. His girlfriend, Emma Finucane, won a gold medal and two bronze for Great Britain in the velodrome in Paris.

Speaking to the Times, he said he always felt like he was “racing in front of a home crowd” when he competed in Britain.

“I grew up watching (British great) Chris Hoy race on the TV. He was my idol at the time; that really sticks with a young lad,” he said. “Whenever I’ve raced in the UK, whether it’s the Commonwealth Games or the Track Champions League, it felt as though I was racing in front of a home crowd, with a lot of family there supporting me.

“It made me think: what would this feel like if I was racing for Great Britain? That’s something I want to find out — I want to chase that feeling, and hopefully I’ll get the opportunity now.”

The move came as a shock to Cycling Australia. Picture: Getty Images

The triple medallist finalised his decision to make the switch in December.

“I’d packed up everything in Australia before the Olympics, which was quite a stressful thing to do while also preparing for the Games.

“But I knew I needed to get it done, so that when I left for the Games there was no turning back. I could begin the next chapter as early as possible and I wouldn’t have to fly back to Australia to sort things out.

“Switching nationality was a difficult decision and not one I took lightly — it was a personal choice, made after careful consideration of my career and future.”

At 25, Richardson was set to be the key piece of the Australian sprint team in Los Angeles in 2028.

A former gymnast, he took up track cycling and was quickly recruited into the Western Australia Institute of Sport.

In addition to his Olympic medals he won two gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and was a world champion in 2022 representing Australia.

AusCycling executive general manager performance Jesse Korf said it was disappointing Richardson would leave a program in which he had such success in.

Former Australian cyclist Matthew Richardson. Picture: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

“The announcement of Matt’s switch is disappointing and came as a surprise. We also understand that the desire to compete for a country one was born in can bring forth strong emotions,” Korf said.

“Our performance program has made massive leaps in terms of culture and performance in recent years which is a testament to all athletes, coaches and staff — Matt included.

“The men’s sprint program is currently one of our deepest and exciting talent pools with strong programs across the country with the support of state and territory institute and academies of sport. We have many talented riders that now will see increased opportunity as we set our sights on LA 2028 as a stepping stone towards Brisbane 2032.”

Richardson said it was a difficult decision to make.

“I deeply respect Australia and the Australian Cycling Team, and it will always be a part of who I am,” he said.

“As this new chapter in my life begins, I would like to sincerely thank the coaches and support staff who have worked with me over many years in Australia.”