By Gareth James
Matt Richards insists he has “plenty left in the tank” as he looks forward to the Paris Olympics after booking his spot in the Great Britain squad.
Wales’ 200m freestyle world champion won the 100m British title in London to secure his place, with his 200m opportunity still there for him to claim on Sunday.
On a night when eight British swimmers earned Olympic selection at the London Aquatics Centre, Richards’ fellow Team Wales star Dan Jervis also grabbed his place by winning the 1500m freestyle.
Olympic spot secured ✅
Matt Richards reigns supreme in the 100m Freestyle!
With the pressure turned up to the max, the Welshman delivered a dominant performance to take the British title comfortably inside the #Paris2024 nomination time. ⚡ pic.twitter.com/sgQYimjhBQ
— Swim Wales (@SwimWales) April 4, 2024
Duncan Scott and Tom Dean – both Olympic champions – made it the most intense of domestic challenges for Richards, but his talent and temperament saw him through.
Youngster Alex Cohoon set the early pace in the 100m freestyle final, but fastest-seed and British record holder Richards was always in contention and built his lead in the third 25m of the race to get in front and hold on to the wall in 47.84, inside the 48.04 nomination standard.
Scott and Dean charged back late on to clock sub-48-second swims of their own, claiming silver and bronze respectively.
With Cohoon finishing fourth, the combined times of that quartet ensured all will be going to Paris after qualifying as the Men’s 4x100m Freestyle team.
“It’s a great result for the team as a whole, that bodes extremely well for our relay,” said Richards.
“That’s job done for today. To be honest, I thought I was capable of a bit quicker, it wasn’t the best executed race for me tonight – but I can’t complain with that.
“I’ve got the job done today and left plenty in the tank for us to improve in the summer.
“Now, I’m just really happy, and I’m just looking forward to the summer. If I want to medal in the summer, I’ll need to be faster than that again I think, so there’s plenty to improve on.
“But it’s a first personal best since 2017, so it’s exciting for the rest of the week now.”
Jervis booked a spot at his second Olympics by winning the 1500m freestyle title and dipping just over six seconds below the required time of 14 minutes 54.29 seconds.
Daniel Jervis is en route to the Paris Olympics!👏🇫🇷
A commanding distance swim earns the Tokyo finalist a place on the plane to France!🤩
Llongyfarchiadau Dan! What a performance. #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/821hwMOQ1L
— Swim Wales (@SwimWales) April 4, 2024
Read more about Matt Richards
Matt Richards And Medi Harris Take Bronze And Book Olympic Relay Spot For GB
Read more about Daniel/Dan Jervis
Welsh Aces Dan Jervis And Matt Richards Star In Sheffield . . . And Look Towards World Championships