Huge news in for Irish sport!
In one of the biggest Irish sport stories of the year, Benjamin Richardson has applied to switch allegiances from South Africa to Ireland.
The 21-year-old sprint star was born on these shores and holds dual citizenship.
According to his agent, Jelle Broekhuisen, Athletics Ireland have submitted an application on his behalf to the World Athletics Nationality Review Panel.
Broekhuisen said: “The waiting period varies, but we hope it’s no longer than three years.”
Since the waiting period began after the 2024 Olympic Games, the last time Richardson represented South Africa, he could potentially line out for Ireland at the 2027 World Championships in Beijing.
He has already racked up an impressive medal tally, winning 100m silver and 4x100m gold at the 2020 U20 World Championships, and 100m bronze at the same event in 2022.
At the African Championships he has a silver in the 4x100m from 2022 and a 100m bronze from 2024.
At the 2024 Olympic Games, he came third in his semi-final, with a time of 9.95, just missing out on the final by .02 of a second.
His 100m personal best of 9.86 would have seen him win bronze at the 2020 Olympics, and his 200m best of 19.99 would have got fourth place at the 2024 Games.
