World Aquatics Championships 2023: British men's 4x200m freestyle relay team snatches world title from defending champions USA to avenge 2022 disappointment
Britain led from the second leg of the race and was the only team to finish under the seven-minute mark in the Paris 2024 Qualifier
Swimming
Great Britain soared to the top of the podium in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships on Friday (28 July), finishing ahead of both teams responsible for their disappointing third place result at the last edition of the swimming competition.
Matthew Richards took over from Duncan Scott to put the British team in the lead in the second leg of the race, with James Guy and Tom Dean carrying the momentum until the finishing strokes, in a race live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com (territorial restrictions apply).
Clocking in at 6:59.08, Great Britain finished almost a second ahead of defending champions USA and more than three seconds ahead of 2022 silver medallists Australia, who took bronze this time. Those three nations all secured berths for the Paris 2024 Olympics by reaching the podium.
"That relay has been really strong for us over the last few years" Richards said in a poolside interview after the race. "Last year we were all pretty gutted with the result with came away with, but I think we've done a great job to bounce back and start building that momentum for next year."
"Every year we push each other all the time and it helps to get the best out of each other as well," added Guy, who swam the opening leg of the relay in 2022. "It was a great race there and I think going into Paris next year we can definitely add on a little bit more."