Richards, 20, outperformed Dean, the Olympic winner, in the last seconds to win the gold by 0.02 seconds and set a new personal record of 1 minute, 44.30 seconds.Hwang Sun-woo of South Korea won the medal, and Romania’s David Popovici, the world champion in 2022, came in fourth.
Despite being somewhat worn out, I am thrilled. The field was piled high, Richards remarked.
Coming away with the GB 1-2 once more is great.
The outcome followed the British Olympic gold and silver medals that Dean and Duncan Scott won in Tokyo when they placed first and second, respectively.
According to Richards, “people thought Popovici was going to walk away with the gold so my coach and I had to plan our race and swim sensibly.”But I was aware that I had to execute the finale perfectly since some of those men had incredibly long arms.
The key is to overcome your fear, have faith in your skills, and put in the necessary effort.
James Guy, the 2015 world champion and member of the Dean squad, Richards, Scott, and James Guy’s 4x200m freestyle relay team, said they were “really excited” to compete on Friday. Dean, who took home bronze last year, expressed similar excitement.
“It’s a bitter-sweet result for myself, but I’ve known Matt for years and if there’s anyone to get beaten by, it would be another Brit,” said Dean, 23, of the outcome.It is encouraging for the relay as well as the next Olympics in Paris. I’m currently buzzing.
“The 4×200 is our specialty; we have won the Olympic title, and we aim to extend Great Britain’s dominance. No other nation is capable of assembling a team like we are. Even though I have a lot more races, I’m secretly really looking forward to that one.
While teammate Abbie Wood did not advance from the heats, Freya Anderson swam a personal best 1:55.85 to qualify sixth fastest for Wednesday’s 200m freestyle final.
In the final on Tuesday, Popovici, 18, took the lead right away and appeared poised to win again, but he faltered significantly as the two English competitors closed in.
On BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, former world champion Karen Pickering said: “That was outstanding. These two young men swam the race flawlessly.
“They sat on the shoulders of the other swimmers, dug deep, and their closing 20 metres were utter perfection.”
Whoever conceived of first and second? GB needs that, but. The team will have faith as a result.
The women’s 4×100 freestyle relay team finished fourth on Sunday, and Jacob Peters and Ben Proud were fourth and fifth in the men’s 50-meter butterfly final on Monday, just missing out on a medal for Great Britain.
Richards competed in the British men’s 4x100m freestyle quartet that lost in the opening day’s heats.
Adam Peaty, an eight-time world champion, is taking a hiatus from the sport for his mental health.
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