Aussie defector Matthew Richardson wins first national gold medal

Six months after sensationally switching his allegiance from Australia to England, the cycling defector has rubbed salt in the wounds.

Matthew Richardson has claimed his first national gold medals after controversially switching allegiances from Australia to Great Britain after the Paris Olympics.

Richardson won three Olympic medals on the track in green and gold in Paris before shocking the Australian cycling team by switching his international allegiance to the country he was born.

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Richardson made the announcement he was jumping ship to Australia’s old enemy in the days following the conclusion of the Games, where he won two silver medals and a bronze for Australia.

And now he’s won his first national titles as a British rider, clinching gold in the individual sprint, the team sprint and the men’s keirin final at the Lloyds National Track Championships in Manchester.

After winning three medals in Paris Matthew Richardson switched his international allegiance to Great Britain. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

“It feels pretty good, I was looking forward to racing nationals, it felt really good to be out here racing so to get out there, first race, first win,” Richardson told Cycling Weekly.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve really dreamt of this day, but I kind of have in a way.

“Swapping nationality meant that I would race British nationals, and I’ve always watched it on YouTube on the replay.”

After seeing pictures of him riding in British colours, Richardson added it “feels pretty sweet”.

Pictured Matthew Richardon. Image: Getty

Richardson is public enemy No. 1 to many Aussies, especially those in the Australian cycling fraternity, who feel let down and wronged by his decision to stop representing Australia.

His cycling development took place in Australia as he rose to become a world champion, two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Olympic medallist.

And after he decided to switch allegiances, Australia’s governing body of cycling, AusCycling, announced in a statement that Richardson was banned from competing for Australia, prohibited from using any of the governing body’s resources and ineligible for any AusCycling awards. All three sanctions are in place for life.

It came after an AusCycling review found that “after the Games, but before announcing his decision, Richardson asked to take AusCycling property including a custom bike, cockpit and Olympic race suit to Great Britain.

This represented an unacceptable risk to AusCycling’s intellectual property”.

Since then the cyclist has rubbished the bans, comparing it to that of a boss telling an employee they are sacked after they already quit.

Originally published as Aussie defector Matthew Richardson wins first national gold medal