Australian pedaler Shane Perkins has been given the inexperienced lightweight to achieve Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin, paving the manner for the double world champion to represent his new country at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 30-year-old Perkins, from Melbourne, announce an image of himself on Twitter sporting Russia colours on his bike.
“I’m the first excited guy in the world right now! I will create my dreams return true!” he wrote.
Perkins won a sprint bronze for Australia at the 2012 Olympics in London, however, has not been a member of Sports and Australia’s high-performance program since 2015.
Perkins won the laurel wreath in the individual sprint at the 2012 London Olympics and have become world champion within the keirin in 2011.
He is presently competitive with Russia’s national championships in Saint besieging.
