- Matthew Richards and Duncan Scott competed in the 200m freestyle final.
- Richards came very close to winning gold, but the 21-year-old claimed silver.
- Romanian David Popovici beat Richards by two hundredths of a second
Matthew Richards won a silver medal for Team Great Britain in the 200m freestyle final.
The 21-year-old Briton missed out on gold by two-hundredths of a second to Romania’s David Popovici in another hugely dramatic race, meaning he was beaten by the same margin as Adam Peaty in the 100m breaststroke final on Sunday night.
Despite his narrow defeat, Richards – who won gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay in Tokyo – put in a superb performance and was almost joined on the podium by fellow Briton Duncan Scott, who finished fourth, while American Luke Hobson took bronze.
It also secured a sixth medal for Team GB on what was a hugely encouraging Monday and the accolade was Richards’ first individual Olympic medal.
“I can’t be too disappointed about that,” he said after the race. “It’s my first individual medal at the Olympics, so to come away with a silver is absolutely fantastic.”
Matt Richards won silver for Great Britain in the 200m freestyle final on Monday night.
Richards put in an impressive performance in lane number 1 and secured Great Britain’s sixth medal of the day.
He was two hundredths of a second away from gold, beating Romanian David Popovici.
‘Obviously, being two-hundredths of a second away from gold is terribly frustrating, but if anything, it adds more fire to the belly and I’ve got a lot more to do this week.
‘Duncan and I came second and fourth and I feel gutted for him for not getting a medal – he deserves it more than anyone, but that motivates me.’
Richards was very close to gold, with Popovici’s wingspan seemingly securing his triumph when they both finished and the 21-year-old reflected on how close he came.
“I felt like I touched first,” Richards added. “I thought I had it, but it wasn’t my best result, and time tells a different story. Everything is black and white in this sport, so we’ll see what we can do next time.”
Richards’ feats were even more impressive considering he was racing in lane number 1, a traditionally more difficult position to swim in.
“It’s not ideal,” he explained. “I didn’t calculate things well in the semi-final and being out put me a little bit out of the race.”
Richards was filled with pride at claiming his first individual medal at the Olympic Games.
Richards claimed Team GB’s sixth medal on what was an encouraging Monday.
‘Sometimes it can mean you end up on the wrong side, like tonight, but I’m 21 and still young, and I want it to be at least another 10 years until I can think about hanging up my glasses.
“It’s a good learning experience and we’ll apply it for the rest of the week.”
Richards will have another chance at individual gold when he contests the men’s 100m freestyle, while he will also compete in the 100m and 200m freestyle relay events, as well as the 4x100m medley relay.
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