Scott leads GB home to defend relay title

Great Britain retained their Olympic 4x200m freestyle relay title in commanding fashion to secure the team’s first swimming gold in Paris.

After Adam Peaty and Matt Richards came agonisingly close with silvers, the same quartet that won in Tokyo – Richards, James Guy, Tom Dean and Duncan Scott – reunited to win in the cauldron of La Defense Arena.

They had a slender lead going into the final leg but Scott, who was a cruel fourth in the individual event 24 hours earlier, brought the team home to win by a relatively comfortable 1.35 seconds.

As the 27-year-old came down the final length, his fellow Scot Andy Murray prolonged his tennis career with another remarkable doubles victory in a special few moments for Team GB in Paris.

After the medal ceremony, the Britons celebrated with their families in the stands – something they were unable to do during the Covid-19-impacted Games in 2021.

“It feels different for so many reasons but mostly because my family and friends are in the crowd,” said Dean. “That is the most special thing.

“It is all I have been thinking about since we won it in Tokyo, to do it again.”

Victory made this the first time a British relay quartet have retained an Olympic title in swimming or athletics.

It brought Team GB a fourth gold of the Games, taking their medal total to 12.

Kieran Bird, who like Richards was born in England and swims for Wales, and Jack McMillan from Northern Ireland will also receive medals having filled in for Richards and Scott in the morning heats.

Men’s freestyle is Britain’s great strength in swimming.

The winning quartet have all won world or Olympic gold in the individual 200m freestyle.

They are huge rivals for those solo places but also great friends and will all be present when Richards marries fellow GB swimmer Emily Large next month.

With Richards – who earlier missed out on reaching the 100m freestyle final 90 minutes before the final – and Scott having gruelling schedules, they were rested for the heats but came in for the final two legs.

Guy gave the team a flying start. He is supposedly the weakest freestyler but built a lead over American Luke Hobson, who won bronze in the individual event on Monday.

With USA and France in the race, the noise levels were high. Dean – the 200m individual champion from 2021, who did not qualify here because of Richards and Scott – lost the lead momentarily but came strong in his final length.

Richards stretched the lead again to hand Scott the advantage, and he was never going to be caught. USA finished behind for silver while Australia took bronze.

“There are so many great individuals in that team but when we come together it is so special,” Scott said of the quartet, who also won World Championship gold in 2023.

“It fills you with confidence going up in the block with those guys.

“I am standing behind an Olympic champion, a world champion and a world champion. I’m thinking, ‘I am in a pretty good place’.”

Scott now has seven Olympic medals including two golds, with only former cyclists Sir Jason Kenny and Sir Bradley Wiggins ahead of him in terms of total medals on the British list.

Dean now has three Olympic golds, and his fellow Englishman Guy – GB’s ever-reliable relay specialist – has three golds and three silvers, all of them part of a quartet.

Earlier, Daniel Wiffen became the first athlete from Northern Ireland to win an Olympic gold medal in 36 years with victory in the 800m freestyle for Team Ireland.

Home favourite Leon Marchand qualified for both the 200m breaststroke and 200m butterfly finals as he looks to add to his 400m medley gold.

Both finals take place on Wednesday evening in what could be an epic session of swimming.

Australia’s Kaylee McKeown retained her 100m backstroke title, edging out American Regan Smith in one of the races billed as the best of this meet.

Smith had taken McKeown’s world record this year but McKeown powered down the second length to win by 0.33 seconds.