British Trials, Day 3 Finals: Matt Richards Takes 100 Free Title In 47.84; Joined By Scott, Dean & Cohoon For 4×1 Relay

Matthew Richards of Great Britain competes in the Men's Freestyle 200m Heats during the 20th World Aquatics Championships at the Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 24th, 2023.
Matt Richards: Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
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British Trials, Day 3 Finals: Matt Richards Takes 100 Free Title In 47.84; Joined By Scott, Dean & Cohoon For 4×1 Relay

Matt Richards claimed the 100 free title in 47.84 to book his first individual Olympic swim as the first three men came home inside 48secs in London.

The Welshman reached halfway in 22.79 – 0.07 ahead of David Cumberlidge – and never relinquished the lead despite threats from every lane across the pool as he finished well inside the cut of 48.06.

The British record-holder was followed home by Duncan Scott, who came from fifth at halfway to surge into second in 47.92, 0.02 ahead of Olympic 200 free champion Tom Dean who took bronze in 47.94.

Alexander Cohoon clocked 48.20 for fourth and a trip to Paris as part of the 4×1 free quartet followed home by Jacob Whittle (48.39), Cumberlidge (48.41) and Alexander Painter (48.44) with Jack McMillan clocking 48.81 after replacing James Guy in the final after he withdrew following his 48.68 PB in prelims.

It was mission accomplished for Richards who said:

“Absolutely. It was a great result for the team as a whole, that bodes extremely well for the relay.

“Job done for today. To be honest, I thought I was capable of going quicker, it maybe wasn’t the best executed race for me tonight but I can’t complain with that.

“I got the job done today and left plenty in the tank for us to improve in the summer.”

Richards added:

“That race was just as high-pressure as an Olympic final will be at the end of the day because until you get that done, you’re not going to the Olympics.

“The nerves and the pressure of that are a great opportunity to practice for the summer.

“Of course, I am enjoying that pressure, I like to be going in in lane four and try to deliver for the people watching.

“So really happy with that, it was great practice for the summer and we’ll just improve from here.”

Scott also swam within the qualification time and is well in contention to claim an individual swim in the French capital, two years after winning Commonwealth bronze in 2022, his last international outing over two lengths.

The six-time Olympic medallist said:

“I’m really happy to back in the 47s and three boys under the 48 is real good quality. Credit to a lot of those boys in the final, it’s hard racing.

“It’s tough in the environment and it’s down to managing your own race through the mornings and getting through the rounds. It’s a 100 free field which is really good quality and I like to think I’m a hard swimmer and can handle that.

“I’ve got some really important events to come: the 200IM, which is my favourite event at the moment in terms of how I’ve been doing internationally.

“I’ve got the 200 free later in the week and that will be a dog fight. Probably hectic in the heats but looking forward to it. Domestically it’s a bit tougher, we are teammates and all competing for places. It’s really exciting but tough, and you have to be at your best to qualify.”

Up next for Richards, who is coached by Ryan Livingstone at Millfield, is the 50 free where he’ll meet Ben Proud and Lewis Burras, who missed out on the 100 free final.

Come Sunday and he’ll reunite with Scott, Dean and Guy to decide who’ll book the 200 free berth.

It’s a mouthwatering prospect with Richards the 2023 world champion, Dean and Scott finishing 1-2 in Tokyo along with Guy who joined the trio to win the 4×2 title in Tokyo.

While he’s booked his Olympic berth, the 21-year-old remains razor-sharp in his focus as he seeks to build up his Paris programme.

“The ticket’s there, I’m going to the Games but there’s a lot more I want to do this week.

“Both of those races are really important to me: I want to book those individual spots, I want those races in the summer.

“So I don’t think it takes any pressure off those, there’s still a lot I want to deliver but it’s definitely a great way to get into the week.”

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