Matthew Richardson (cyclist)

Last updated

Matthew Richardson
UCI Track World Championships 2020 086.jpg
Richardson in 2020
Personal information
Born (1999-04-17) 17 April 1999 (age 25) [1]
Maidstone, United Kingdom [2]
Height166 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight71 kg (157 lb)
Team information
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider
Medal record
Men's track cycling
Representing Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Olympic Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2024 Paris Sprint
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2024 Paris Keirin
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2024 Paris Team sprint
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Team sprint
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2022 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Sprint
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2023 Glasgow Team sprint
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2023 Glasgow Keirin
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2020 Berlin Team sprint
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Birmingham Team sprint
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2022 Birmingham Sprint

Matthew Richardson (born 17 April 1999) is a track cyclist who represented Australia until August 2024 and Great Britain from September 2024 onwards. He competed in the men's keirin, individual sprint and team sprint at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. His most successful event was the team sprint, where the Australians came fourth. [3] [4] He also competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics, again in the keirin, individual sprint and team sprint. Here he placed second in the sprint and keirin, missing out on gold in both to Dutch rider Harrie Lavreysen. The Australian team also placed third in the team sprint.

Contents

Early years

Richardson was born in Maidstone, Kent in England to English parents and moved to Australia for his father's work when he was nine years old. He grew up in Maidstone and then Warwick, Western Australia. As a result, he has both British and Australian citizenship.

As a teenager, Richardson competed in gymnastics and earned podium results at a national level. However, after suffering an elbow injury he turned his interest to cycling. [5] [6]

Career

Representating Australia

Richardson cycled for the Midland Cycling Club. He was invited to attend a 'come 'n' try' session and was recruited to the Western Australian Institute of Sport.

Three months before the 2019 World Championships, Richardson relocated to South Australia to join Cycling Australia's Podium Potential Academy. This move paid dividends as Richardson was selected to represent Australia in the team sprint. The team finished in sixth position and were edged out of the finals by eventual silver medallists, France. [5]

At the 2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Richardson won a bronze medal in the team sprint with Thomas Cornish and Nathan Hart. It was Australia's highest finish in this event at a World Championships in eight years. [7]

Richardson competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where he won gold medals in the team sprint event alongside Leigh Hoffman and Matthew Glaetzer [8] and in the individual sprint event. [9]

Richardson won three medals for Australia at Paris 2024 Olympics; two silver medals in the keirin and the sprint, and a bronze in the team sprint. However, despite representing Australia, it was later revealed that Richardson had already been in discussions to join the Great Britain Cycling Team after the Olympics. [10]

Switch to representating Great Britain

On 19 August, after the conclusion of the 2024 Olympics, it was announced that Richardson would be leaving the Australian cycling roster and would instead represent Great Britain, the country of his birth, after his application to switch allegiance was accepted by the UCI. [11] [12] [13] [14] This move attracted controversy amongst the Australian cycling community. [10] It was later reported that AusCycling was considering whether it wanted to enforce a two-year non-competition order on Richardson, which would ban him from competing at international track cycling events until 2026. [15] However, in a later statement, AusCycling shared that they would not be pursuing this as it had been deemed legally unenforceable. [16]

Richardson's first event in Great Britain's colours was the 2024 UCI Track Champions League. At the first round in Paris he won both the sprint and the keirin, beating rival Harrie Lavreysen and earning him maximum points. [17]

Personal life

Richardson's partner is fellow British track cyclist Emma Finucane. [18]

See also

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The 2024 in cycling results is given as follows:

References

  1. ↑ "Cycling Track - RICHARDSON Matthew". Tokyo 2020 Olympics . Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Matthew Richardson". commonwealthgames.com.au. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  3. ↑ "Matthew RICHARDSON". Olympics.com. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  4. ↑ "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Matthew Richardson". Australian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Gymnast leaps from the beam to the bike". The West Australian. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "2020 UCI Track Cycling World Championships results". Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  8. ↑ "Commonwealth Games: Cyclist Matthew Richardson claims first gold medal for WA in dominant team sprint". Perth Now. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  9. ↑ "Commonwealth Games: Super final from WA's Matthew Richardson cements place as Commonwealth champion". Perth Now. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  10. 1 2 Doyle, Michael (20 August 2024). "Australian athletes feeling 'ripped off' after cyclist Matthew Richardson's defection to Team Great Britain". ABC News. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  11. ↑ "Matt Richardson to join Great Britain Cycling Team sprint squad". British Cycling. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  12. ↑ "Statement on Matthew Richardson". AusCycling date-19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  13. ↑ "Australia's Richardson switches to GB cycling team". BBC News. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  14. ↑ Fleming, Dave (19 August 2024). "He won cycling medals for Australia in Paris. Now, he's switched countries". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  15. ↑ "'Aussie' Olympic medallist could cop two-year ban after defection to Brits: 'A difficult decision, not one I took lightly'". Roar. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  16. ↑ "Finalised statement on Matthew Richardson". AusCycling. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  17. ↑ "Richardson wins sprint and keirin on GB debut". BBC. 23 November 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
  18. ↑ "Revealed: The secret talks that brought Emma Finucane's Australian boyfriend to Team GB". The Telegraph. 19 August 2024. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
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