Rising sprint star Benjamin Richardson is hoping to compete for Ireland at the 2027 World Championships in Beijing and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, his agent Jelle Broekhuisen has confirmed.
Richardson, who was born in Ireland and holds an Irish passport, was raised in South Africa and has dual citizenship.
According to Broekhuisen, the Irish athletics federation recently submitted an application on behalf of Richardson to the World Athletics Nationality Review Panel.
The 21-year-old sprinter was now waiting for the review panel to consider his application.
Waiting period
According to World Athletics rules, any athlete who switched allegiance needed to sit out a waiting period before competing for a different country, though Broekhuisen said it was unclear how long he would have to wait before representing Ireland, provided he received approval for the switch.
“The waiting period varies, but we hope it’s no longer than three years,” Broekhuisen said.
The waiting period started the last time Richardson represented South Africa at the Olympic Games in Paris in August 2024.
“This means he can potentially represent Ireland at the World Championships in September 2027,” Broekhuisen confirmed.
Promising talent
One of South Africa’s most promising athletes, Richardson earned three medals in SA colours at two editions of the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2021 and 2022.
Last year, he won the national senior 200m title and went on to secure bronze at the African Athletics Championships in Cameroon. He also reached the 100m semifinals at the 2024 Olympics.
Richardson’s 100m personal best of 9.86 seconds, set in Switzerland in July last year, is the second quickest time ever run by a South African. Only national record holder Akani Simbine (9.82) has gone faster.
Holding a 200m personal best of 19.99, he is also one of only four South Africans (after Simbine, Wayde van Niekerk and Shaun Maswanganyi) to run under 10 seconds over 100m and 20 seconds over 200m.
World Athletics allows athletes to switch allegiance only once in their careers, and should Richardson compete for Ireland, he will not be able to represent South Africa again.
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