Shane Perkins gains Russian citizenship

Australia's Shane Perkins is set to compete for Russia at the 2020 Olympics after being granted citizenship.

Shane Perkins has represented Australia at Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. (AAP) Source: Getty

Australian Olympian Shane Perkins has completed his defection to Russia after Vladimir Putin signed off on granting him citizenship.

In to bid to compete at Tokyo 2020, Olympic bronze medallist Perkins switched his allegiance after missing selection for last year's Rio Games.

The 30-year-old Perkins, from Melbourne, posted a picture of himself on Twitter wearing Russia colours on his bike.

"I'm the most excited guy in the world right now! I can make my dreams come true!" he wrote.

Perkins won a sprint bronze for Australia at the 2012 Olympics in London but has not been a member of Cycling Australia's high-performance program since 2015.

CA, who learned of Perkin's intention to swap allegiances last November, said in February it wouldn't stand in his way to represent Russia.

Perkins is a good friend of Russia's reigning world champion sprinter Denis Dmitriev, who took bronze in the sprint at Rio.

A statement on the Kremlin website detailed an executive order signed by president Putin.

"The President resolved to grant Russian Federation citizenship to Shane Alan Perkins, born in Australia on December 30, 1986," the statement dated August 17 read.

Australia has granted citizenship to a number of top Russian athletes over the years, including women's tennis player Daria Gavrilova.