Kelland O'Brien

Kelland O’Brien grew up in Lilydale, on the edge of Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Bicycles were always an important part of his life, starting with BMX racing from the age of four with Lilydale BMX Club. Several years later, O’Brien followed his father into mountain biking, and also tried his hand at road racing.

It wasn’t until 15 years of age that the Victorian discovered track cycling.

He represented Australia for the first time at the 2015 UCI Junior Track World Championships, where he won gold in the Madison and the team pursuit.

In 2017, his first elite year, O’Brien won two Oceania championships and his maiden elite world title in the team pursuit at the 2017 UCI World Championships in Hong Kong. There, he also won bronze in the individual pursuit.

The next year saw O'Brien win dual national and dual Oceania crowns, and gold in a World Cup. His season highlight was teaming up with Welsford, Porter and Leigh Howard to set a world record on their way to gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

O'Brien started 2019 by helping Australia defend their team pursuit world title (breaking their own world record) and winning three national titles.

With over half a dozen track national titles to his name, in 2020 O'Brien won his first road national championship in the under-23 criterium.

In 2021, he placed second in the elite road race national championship and third in the time trial before making his Olympic Games debut in Tokyo, winning a bronze medal in the team pursuit.

Since 2022, O’Brien has raced professionally on the road with the GreenEdge cycling team.

In 2023, he won the elite criterium national title in Ballarat, sprinting to victory from a select breakaway group. He also won bronze in the time trial.

At the start of 2024, O’Brien won another bronze medal at the road national championships, this time in the road race behind trade teammates Luke Plapp and Chris Harper.

O’Brien has become somewhat of a specialist in the Madison, having won the national championship on four occasions – each time with a different partner.

He made his second Olympic Games appearance at Paris 2024, where he helped power Australia to a famous gold medal in the team pursuit.

In Paris, O'Brien rode alongside Conor Leahy, Sam Welsford and Oliver Bleddyn to set a new world record of 3:40.730 in the first round. In the decider against Great Britain, the quartet executed another excellent race to win gold for Australia for the first time since Athens 2004.

O'Brien also competed in the Madison alongside Welsford, finishing 12th.