Olympic medallist Matthew Richardson defects from Australia to Britain

Team-mates of Olympic star Matthew Richardson weren’t aware in Paris that he’d already committed to switch allegiance — a move years in the making.

Matthew Richardson on the podium after winning silver in the keirin event in Paris. Picture: Getty Images

Matthew Richardson, the Olympic medal-winning cyclist, is changing allegiance from Australia to Great Britain.

The announcement was made swiftly after the end of the Paris Games, just over a week after he had won the second of his silver medals, but Richardson had been contemplating the switch for quite some time.

“It had been in the back of my mind for many years. Holding dual citizenship, it’s always been a possibility,” he says. “If it was going to happen, it had to be after these Games. Now is the right time for me, the right time in terms of my sport, that’s why I went for it.”

The decision came as a shock to the world of cycling. In the velodrome in Paris, Richardson was one of the outstanding performers, narrowly beaten in both the individual sprint and the keirin by the peerless Harrie Lavreysen, of the Netherlands, and adding a bronze in the team sprint.

He is still only 25, two years younger than Lavreysen, and wants to beat the Dutch rider to the top step of the podium at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028; he thinks he stands a better chance of doing that with Team GB.

The move was also made more straightforward by his relationship with Emma Finucane, the new star of British track cycling. Finucane, 21, became the first British woman to win three medals at a single Olympics since Mary Rand in 1964, claiming gold in the team sprint and bronze in both the individual sprint and keirin.

“It’s just nice to know that we don’t have to do long distance any more,” Richardson says. “I can actually drive to go and see her, rather than fly half the way across the world.”

After the retirements of Jason and Laura Kenny in the previous Olympic cycle, in Los Angeles the British cycling team should now have another golden couple competing in tandem, each with three medals to their name already.

Richardson was born in Maidstone, Kent, emigrating to Australia at the age of nine when his father earned a promotion in his job with Ikea that meant relocating to live in Perth.

Silver medallist Matthew Richardson, right, and bronze medallist Matthew Glaetzer after the keirin event. Picture: AFP

“It was only me, my mum, dad and sister that moved, so I’ve got way more family over here in the UK than I do in Australia,” he says. “I’m leaving Mum and Dad in Australia, but I’d already moved to Adelaide, which is a long way from Perth, so it’s not going to be that different. I was born and bred here … there’s always been that emotional connection.

“I grew up watching Chris Hoy race on the TV. He was my idol at the time; that really sticks with a young lad. 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 process of shifting nationalities has taken its time and it came as a relief to Richardson when the news was finally announced. He made the decision in December and had the unusual experience during the Olympics of knowing, without being able to tell his Australia team-mates, that he was racing with them for the final time.

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

Richardson in action in Paris. Picture: AFP

“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.”

To be carrying such a weighty secret during the Olympics might have proved a distraction to some, but Richardson maintained his focus.

“It actually helped to motivate me,” he says. “I knew this was the last time I was going to race for Australia and I needed to make the most of it.

“It was the end of an era and I wanted to do the absolute best I could for Australia, who have put a lot of time and resources into me. I remember walking up the stairs to the track for the keirin final and thinking, ‘This is the last time I’m going to race for Australia.’ It was a strange feeling, but it was fun at the same time.”

The regulations of international cycling mean that Richardson will not be eligible to ride for Great Britain at the World Track Championships in Copenhagen in October, nor at the European Championships in Belgium in February.

His first appearance is likely to be in one of next year’s Nations Cup meetings, the dates of which are yet to be announced.

Great Britain cyclist Emma Finucane after winning bronze in the sprint in Paris. Getty Images

But his presence will significantly bolster the hopes of the British sprint squad looking towards the LA Games. They were silver-medal winners in the team sprint in Paris, ahead of Australia and behind the Netherlands, whose line-up is likely to have evolved by 2028. Although Lavreysen will still be involved, his team-mates Jeffrey Hoogland, 30, and Roy van den Berg, 35, may have moved on. In contrast, Jack Carlin, at 27, was the oldest member of the British sprint trio in Paris alongside Hamish Turnbull, 25, and Ed Lowe, 20.

Richardson will also now be able to call Finucane a team-mate. While the decision to move hemispheres and nationalities was undoubtedly momentous, the knowledge that he would be nearer his girlfriend undoubtedly smoothed the process.

“I’ve wanted to do this for the past seven years, really, but Emma being in the picture made it an even easier decision,” he said. “I’ll be moving to Manchester and having Emma there will help me find my feet.”

In the Paris velodrome he kept his support for his girlfriend largely to himself, but enjoyed seeing her win those three medals from such close quarters, even if it was from a rival pen.

“I wasn’t doing a lot of external cheering, I was trying to save as much energy [as possible] between races,” he said. “But it was fantastic to watch, to be there to support Emma, to watch her achieve her goals alongside me doing the same with mine. The only thing better than achieving your own goals is watching your other half do the same thing right next to you. It was great, I was so happy she did amazing things as well.”

And in the Los Angeles velodrome in four years’ time, rather than competing for rival nations, they will both wearing the colours of Team GB.

The Times