Matt Richardson, Australia’s Olympic medallist in track cycling at Paris 2024, joins Great Britain

Track cyclist Matt Richardson, who won three medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics for Australia, has switched his nationality to Great Britain, the Australian Cycling Federation confirmed on Monday.

The Australian cyclist’s decision to switch nationalities was approved by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

Matt Richardson won his first Olympic medal in team sprint, where he bagged a bronze alongside Leigh Hoffman and Matthew Glaetzer. He went on to add two more silver medals in individual sprint and keirin events.

The 25-year-old Richardson said that the decision to switch was about “following my passion and pushing myself to new heights.”

A five-time world championships medallist, Matt Richardson was born in England but moved to Australia at the age of nine due to his father’s work and stayed there for 16 years. He grew up in Warwick, Western Australia and earned dual citizenship with Great Britain and Australia.

“I have made the decision to pack up my entire life and move halfway across the world to begin the next chapter in my cycling career,” Richardson said after switching nationalities. “It is with a sense of excitement and renewal that I announce I have joined the Great British Cycling Team.

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

Richardson represented Australia for the first time at the 2019 UCI World Championships in the team sprint event and finished sixth. He later went on to bag two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

With Team Great Britain, Matt Richardson will be working under the guidance of seven-time Olympic gold medallist Jason Kenny.