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Welsh Aces Dan Jervis And Matt Richards Star In Sheffield . . . And Look Towards World Championships

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By Hannah Blackwell

Wales’ Olympic gold medalist Matt Richards was just edged out of another gold in an all-time classic Men’s 100m Freestyle final at the British Swimming Championships.

In a hotly-contested final in Sheffield, Richards was one of three swimmers who finished under the World Championships consideration time.

It was Lewis Burras who did enough to edge out his competitors though – his time of 47.99 a single one hundredth better than Duncan Scott’s 48.00 and three hundredths quicker than Richards’ 48.02 – as all of the medal-winning athletes went under the consideration time of 48.05.

The result is testament to the fast-moving evolution of the event in Britain, as preparations continue ahead of Worlds in July and the subsequent Olympic Games next summer.

Earlier in the night, Swim Wales High Performance Centre man Dan Jervis secured a Worlds qualifying spot in the Men’s 1500m Freestyle, as the 26-year-old led from the front in a dominating swim to open the third finals session at Ponds Forge.

It was close to a personal best swim for Jervis who missed the Commonwealth Games last year through illness – a tight battle with Loughborough University’s Toby Robinson down the first 400m moving into Jervis shaking off the pressure to settle into a solid rhythm as he pushed for a place on the team in Fukuoka.

Consistently under 60 seconds per 100 metres, Jervis always looked in control of the race, and the attention turned from the consideration time to the qualification time as he got closer to the finish.

The crowd roared him home as the bell rang for the final two lengths, and he responded by putting in a swift finish to give him a time of 14:46.95, which is exactly a second off the British record held by fellow Welshman David Davies and took him inside that crucial Worlds qualification mark.

Robinson did enough to take a clear silver medal, and Swansea University’s Nathan Hughes was the best of the rest as he took the bronze.

“It’s great. I’m really relieved, I’m really happy. I’ve put my heart and soul into this year, as everyone does, as I do every year – but this year it meant so much more, because I felt like I was at rock bottom, it was horrible but I knew I had people there for me and I am so grateful,” said the Olympic finalist.

“That’s why I’ve mentioned my mum and dad, that’s why I got emotional because it means a lot.

“It was very hard for the opportunity to be taken away from me [at the Commonwealth Games in 2022]. I feel as if this was a bounceback, that was only my third 1500m of the year, so I’m really happy with that!”

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