Matt Richards won the men’s 200m freestyle race at the British Championships in London. Tom Dean, who won the gold medal at the Olympics, didn’t get to defend his title in Paris.
Richards won what was called the most difficult race in U.S. history, with Duncan Scott coming in second.
Dean came in third, but at this summer’s Olympics, only two people can race in that event. He will still compete in other sports, though.
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Richards, the 2023 world 200m freestyle winner, said, “It lived up to the hype.”
“That was probably the best field you’ll find in the United States.” It helped me get ready for the Olympics.
These three swimmers won gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the Tokyo Olympics. They have been competing against each other all week, but this race was always going to be the big one.
Seven of the eight men in the final had been to the Olympics before. Scott had won a silver medal when Dean won the gold medal in Tokyo.
Last year at the World Championships, Richards won gold in the event and Dean won silver. However, Dean did not qualify.
Dean had set a big goal of winning five medals in Paris. He had already qualified for the 200m individual medley event by winning silver on Thursday, but he missed out on the spot in the 100m freestyle event.
“I said to him at the end of the race it is so bittersweet because in a perfect world we would love it if we could all get in there and race,” he said.
“There is always going to be someone who just misses out and Deano is a phenomenal talent.”
James Guy came in fourth, which means he will go to Paris for the relay. He, Guy, Dean, Scott, and Richards will all be trying to protect the title they won in Tokyo.
