- Australian cyclist Shane Perkins has switched alliances and will represent Russia
- Olympian won a bronze at London 2012 but was left out of last year’s Rio games
- Vladimir Putin personally signed off move as the 30-year-old targets Tokyo 2020
- Perkins shared his overwhelming joy on Twitter after gaining Russian citizenship
Australian cyclist Shane Perkins has defected to Russia after he was left out of the Rio Olympics team.
The 30-year-old won bronze at the London Olympics in 2012 and believed his best chance of bettering that result was to switch allegiances.
Perkins was granted Russian citizenship on Thursday via an executive order personally signed off by President Vladimir Putin.
Australian cyclist Shane Perkins has defected to Russia after he was left out of the Rio Olympics team
The 30-year-old won bronze at the London Olympics in 2012 and believed his best chance of bettering that result was to switch allegiances
Perkins was granted Russian citizenship on Thursday via an executive order personally signed off by President Vladimir Putin
‘The President resolved to grant Russian Federation citizenship to Shane Alan Perkins, born in Australia on December 30, 1986,’ it read.
Brisbane-born Perkins posted on Twitter announcing his defection: ‘I’m the most excited guy in the world right now! I can make my dreams come true!’
He first applied for Russian citizenship in February in a bid to make the country’s Tokyo Olympic team in 2020.
‘The Russian Cycling Federation has given me another opportunity to chase my dreams of Olympic representation in Tokyo 2020 which has special significance to me as my father raced the Olympics in Tokyo 1964,’ he said at the time.
The official documentation that gives Perkins the green light to race for Russia at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Despite his success representing his homeland, Cycling Australia revealed they wouldn’t stand in his way if he wished to pursue his career with a different nation
The Commonwealth Games gold medalist has been training in St Petersberg with the Russian team for months and won gold in the sprint at the national championships this week.
His Instagram shows numerous pictures of him wearing Russian team uniforms and standing on the podium.
‘Such an exciting time right now! So happy and excited about the future!’ he wrote in another post.
Cycling Australia said in February it would not stand in his way, and he had not been on the organisation’s high performance team since 2015.
Perkins got the thumbs up from Russia, who have taken him in with open arms as he bids to challenge for medals at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo