Team GB storm to another gold in the pool with victory in 4x200m freestyle relay

Newly crowned 200m Olympic champion Tom Dean, along with silver medallist Duncan Scott, James Guy and Matthew Richards finished an emphatic 3.23 seconds ahead of second placed Russian Olympic Committee, with Australia taking the bronze medal. 

While their winning time of six minutes and 58.58 seconds was just 0.03 seconds short of the existing world record, the victory means this is the first time in 113 years that Great Britain have taken three swimming gold medals at an Olympic Games.

Dean also became the first male swimmer from Britain to claim two golds at a Games since 1908.

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Team GB were favourites to land the gold coming into the race, but it was the US team who made the stronger start, leading for most of the first leg with Dean just behind them.

Guy, a veteran of Team GB’s silver medal-winning quartet in the same event in Rio five years ago, was able to eat into to the American lead during the second leg before 18-year-old Richards surged into the lead.

It was then left to Scott to seal the win, with Guy visibly moved by the achievement as he watched from the side of the pool.

Can't cope with how much it means to James Guy 😭😭😭https://t.co/EcAvgaAoOa #Tokyo2020 #bbcolympics https://t.co/BFKUDnN7Xh

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 28, 2021

“It’s really special with these boys,” Scott said afterwards. “Matt in third was so composed and the boys up front executed the race plans really well.

“So close to a world record in the end – if anything I’m a bit gutted.”