First Adam Peaty, now Matt Richards: Another British swimmer in the ‘curse of the 0.02sec’

For the second night in succession, a British swimmer thought they had won Olympic gold, only to turn to the giant scoreboard and receive the same brutal verdict about sport’s fine margins.

First Adam Peaty. Now Matt Richards. Two silver medals and both denied on the final touch by only two hundredths of a second. At just 21, Richards might be at the opposite end of his career to Peaty but there is more than a passing similarity in his copious hunger and, with further opportunities looming – not least in the 4x200 metre relay on Tuesday night – a gold medal may very well soon follow.

It was also a relief to hear that his parents, Amanda and Simon, had made it inside La Défense Arena for their son’s first individual Olympic final in the 200m freestyle.

They had hit out at Olympic organisers last month after initially losing thousands of pounds on tickets that turned out to be fake and called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to provide tickets to the families of competing athletes. “We’re just a normal working family – we couldn’t afford to buy tickets for everything he’s swimming in,” said Amanda.

After raising the issue in the media, it is understood that the family did eventually get their £2,500 back before securing genuine tickets alongside Richards’ fiancee, Emily, ahead of their wedding shortly later this summer.

It was earlier also reported that Tom Daley’s family had to pay £400 to see him win silver, with athletes unhappy behind the scenes not just at the ongoing absence of Olympic prize money but a lack of tickets for their biggest supporters.

Asked if the British swimmers had been struck by “the curse of the 0.02sec”, Richards said: “It seems that way. I thought I had got it – it felt as if I had touched it first. The time says differently. It is not a sport that is up for debate. It is black and white.

“To be two one hundredths off gold is excruciatingly frustrating. I’m over the moon and devastated at the same time. But I can’t be too disappointed. If anything it has added more fire to my belly.”

Richards had been part of the British 4x200m team that won relay gold in Tokyo and after winning a World Championship double in the relay and individual events last year, was only denied here by David Popovici’s rapid finish. Duncan Scott, who was aiming to add to the six Olympic medals he has previously already won, was just outside the medals in fourth.

With 2021 double Olympic champion Tom Dean and James Guy to be added to the team, Scott is likely to correct that on Tuesday and will also have further opportunities in the men’s 200m individual medley and various relays.

Scott needs only one more medal to become Team GB’s most decorated Olympic swimmer and join Sir Chris Hoy on seven medals. The respective eight and nine that have been won by Sir Bradley Wiggins and Sir Jason Kenny are also in view.

The individual performances of Richards and Scott also underlines Britain’s status as the clear favorites to defend their Olympic title with their expected big showdown against the USA in the 4x200m relay.

Swimming in lane one after qualifying only seventh fastest, Richards made an aggressive start and was among the top three throughout the entire race but did not quite time his finish as effectively as Popovici. In a blanket finish, Scott was only 0.15sec off gold and 0.08sec behind the American Luke Hobson in bronze.

Richards, who improvised to keep training during the Covid lockdown by using a paddling pool with a harness attached to his parents’ garage door, believes that losing by such a fine margin will ultimately help his career.

“It’s something that I’ve dreamt of since I was a little boy,” he said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dreaming of being one step higher on the podium. But my week’s not done. It’s made me hungrier than ever. I’m young, I’m 21. I’m planning on being in the sport for at least another 10 years.”

Like Scott, Freya Colbert earlier also just missed out on a medal, finishing fourth in the women’s 400m individual medley.

Men’s 200m freestyle final: As it happened . . .

08:08 PM BST

Richards reacts

08:03 PM BST

Social media reaction

07:59 PM BST

Team GB hit 10 medals

Britain are up to seventh in the medal table now with two golds, five silvers, three bronze.

Six of those medals have come today!

07:52 PM BST

Heartbreak for Richards

Like Adam Peaty last night, Richards was beaten by just 0.02 seconds. Brutal!

07:50 PM BST

Final classification

1. Popovici 1:44.72

2. Richards 1:44.74

3. Hobson 1:44.79

4. Scott 1:44.87

5. Maertens 1:45.46

6. Rapsys 1:45.46

7. Giuliani 1:45.57

8. Matsumoto 1:46.26

07:47 PM BST

Result

Popovici steals it by two-hundredths of a second. Richards looked like he had it right to the end but must settle for silver.

Hobson takes bronze for USA.

07:46 PM BST

After 150m

Popovici is back up to second. It will be close to the line.

07:46 PM BST

After 100m

Richards is up to second, charging after Maertens. Popovici is in third.

07:45 PM BST

After 50m

Maertens taps first with Popovici and Richards in third and in good shape.

07:45 PM BST

Here we go!

The swimmers walk out for the latest final of the night. Plenty of support for Richards and Scott.

The buzzer goes off and the swimmers jump in for the final.

07:40 PM BST

Here are the swimmers

• Lane 1 Matthew Richards

• Lane 2 Maximillian Giuliani

• Lane 3 Luke Hobson

• Lane 4 David Popovici

• Lane 5 Duncan Scott

• Lane 6 Lukas Maertens

• Lane 7 Danas Rapsys

• Lane 8 Katsuhiro Matsumoto

07:37 PM BST

Richards and Scott on the backfoot

Romanian 19-year-old David Popovici was fastest into the men’s 200m freestyle final with a time of 1:44.53, nearly half a second quicker than Briton Scott.

07:31 PM BST

What time does the final start?

Richards and Scott are primed to jump into the pool at 7.41pm.

07:28 PM BST

Peaty tests positive for Covid day after missing out on Olympic gold

By Tom Morgan
Adam Peaty has tested positive for Covid after feeling unwell prior to missing out on gold in the men’s 100 metre breaststroke final, Team GB have announced.

Peaty, 29, had been left in tears after settling for Olympic silver as Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi snatched victory in Paris on Sunday night.

Team GB have now confirmed in a statement that Peaty was already feeling ill. “In the hours after the final, his symptoms became worse and he was tested for Covid early on Monday morning,” the team added. “He tested positive at that point.”

Click here to read more.

07:14 PM BST

Men’s 200m freestyle swimming

Hello and welcome to coverage of the men’s 200m freestyle swimming final which features Britons Matthew Richards and Duncan Scott.

Paris is Scott’s third Games and the 27-year-old, who has yet to win an individual Olympic gold, has every chance of adding to his collection of six medals.

He won 200 freestyle, 200 individual medley and 4x100 individual medley silver at the Tokyo Olympics. He also won two relay silvers at the 2016 Rio Games.

“I’m going to go in with quite an open mind. I know if I’m able to swim at my best in each of the events, I’m going to give myself quite a good chance,” said the Scot, who set personal bests in all his finals in Tokyo.

“At 27 I think I’m still pretty young in the sport, so there’s still plenty of life in that with how I’ve been performing over the last few years. I think there’s still plenty of improvement. For me something that really motivates me is can I continually improve and get better.”

Meanwhile, Richards believes he is in the best shape of his life.

At the Tokyo Games, Richards won gold in men’s 4x200 metres freestyle relay.

Richards followed up a win in the 200m freestyle at last year’s World Championships by beating Scott in April’s Olympic trials.

And the 21-year-old Welshman says he is raring to go in the French capital.

“I want it more now than I ever did,” he said. “What happened in Tokyo was fantastic and it was a great result but I’m definitely ready to step on now, move that forward and improve on that performance.

“I see pressure as a privilege - you only feel it when you’ve done something that makes you deserve that pressure. I know from what I’ve done in training and in the last year, I’ve earned some pressure.

“I’m putting pressure on myself, I’m excited, I know I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in by a mile, I’m ready to get out there and race. I’m just in a really good place where I’m loving what I’m doing.

“When you’re in that kind of place, you’re almost in a place where you’re invincible because I’m doing what I love and there’s nothing that can stop me from doing what I love right now.”