Elite sport is a selfish business. It’s all about achieving success for yourself. However much others have contributed to your success – your teammates, your coaches, your sports administrators, and the taxpayers and sponsors who pour money into you and your sport – they merely share your reflected glory. Even nationality itself is negotiable: if you can achieve your personal ambitions under a different flag, so be it.
In the end, it’s all about you.
Richardson’s choice highlights how little nationality seems to matter these days for elite and professional sports people
Given that ‘me first’ mentality of elite sportsmen and women, it’s no surprise that cyclist sprinter Matthew Richardson, fresh from winning two silvers and a bronze medal for Australia at this month’s Paris Olympics, has announced he is changing his official nationality from Australian to British. The 25-year-old dual citizen was born in Britain before his immediate family emigrated to Australia when he was a small boy.
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