Alexander Porter

Fast Facts

Sport: Cycling – Track
Event: Team Pursuit
Olympic History: Tokyo 2020 (bronze)  
Year Born: 1996
State Born: South Australia 

About Alexander

Hailing from Ashford South Australia, Alexander Porter was recruited to cycling at the age of 15 through the South Australian Sports Institute talent identification program. He had been playing football for Scotch College but was told he had the right make-up for cycling and was encouraged to make the switch. 

It wasn’t long before Porter was making an impression. In 2014 he claimed the junior Team Pursuit world title and just a few months after that collected his maiden elite victory with world cup gold in the points race. 

In 2016, Porter claimed his first Team Pursuit world title, and followed this up in 2017, followed by the 2018 Madison crown.

Proving his versatility, Porter kicked off 2018 with appearances at the Tour Down Under, Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and TrackNats.

Returning to the boards that same year he teamed with Sam Welsford, Leigh Howard and Kelland O’Brien for a history-making performance at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. The team broke the three-minute (3:49.804) fifty-second barrier on their way to winning gold in the Team Pursuit. 

Porter faced his greatest challenge yet when he overcame injuries sustained through a crash while competing at the national track titles in December 2018. Six weeks after he suffered a broken collarbone, six cracked ribs and a lung puncture, the team pursuit starter pulled on the green and gold at the 2019 Track World Championships and joined the quartet who smashed their team pursuit world record, (3min 48.012sec) giving Porter a third career world title. 

At the 2020 World Championships, Porter was part of Australia's title defence in the men's Team Pursuit. The quartet were just two-hundredths of a second off fourth, from Italy who claimed bronze.

It was a dramatic Olympic debut for Alex Porter at Tokyo 2020 who started his campaign with a high-speed crash on the velodrome and finished it with a bronze medal.

Porter was the starter for Australia’s four-man team pursuit in their 4km race against the clock when they were involved in a nasty crash in qualifying.

The quartet was less than 1km into their heat when Porter, who was riding fourth wheel at the time, crashed faced first after the handlebars on his bike suddenly snapped.

He bravely defied his injuries which included skin grazing to his face and arms, and got back on his bike for a restart alongside teammates Sam Welsford, Leigh Howard and Kelland O’Brien. However they were denied a shot at the gold medal after posting the fifth fastest time of 3mins 48.44secs.

Porter did not race the remaining rounds of the team pursuit but still received a bronze medal for his role in qualifying, after the Australians beat New Zealand in their final two days later with Luke Plapp replacing him in the line-up.