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It was a breathtaking silver medal for Matt Richards, but Team GB suffered a cruel twist once again in what has been an agonising 24 hours in the pool.
Richards, the world champion from Fukuoka last year, was bullish entering the Olympics, but stumbled in the final.
David Popovici, hailed as “The Chlorine Daddy” by his fans, provided a menacing pose on the block as a hushed silence descended on La Defense Arena ahead of the men’s 200m freestyle final.
The Romanian has flicked a switch this year with his ominous form making many wonder if the intrigue surrounding this race was surrounding silver and bronze.
The Romanian prevailed with a swim of 1min 44.72secs after a nerve-wracking wait after the touch, seizing a first Olympic gold medal.
Mystery briefly clouded the arena – had the Briton pulled off a stunning gold? A flicker of the board would soon dash his hopes, crowning Popovici by just 0.02secs.
“I’m walking away with a silver, this time last year, I was on the right side of the touch, myself and David, we’ve raced many times, I’ve beaten him, he’s beaten me, fundamentally I loved every minute of that,” Richards said in the immediate aftermath.
“It doesn’t get much better, I’m over the moon, devastated at the same time. If anything, I think the silver is fantastic, but it’s made me want it more than ever.”
It was familiar pain for Great Britain, even if Richards was ultimately thrilled to grab a first individual Olympic medal after a supreme gold in the 4×200 m freestyle in Tokyo.
It was a moment of deja-vu after Adam Peaty, who has since tested positive for Covid-19, was beaten out by the same margin, denying him immortality and a place alongside Michael Phelps as only the second man to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in an individual event.
While Max Litchfield suffered pain, too – 0.19secs outside of bronze in the men’s 400m individual medley, his third successive fourth-place finish at the Olympics.
A word for Duncan Scott, too, the silver medalist in Tokyo, an event that fellow Briton Tom Dean won, but then failed to requalify for after a tenacious battle at the British trials.
The Scot finished fourth in a comparatively lofty eight-hundredths of a second behind the USA’s Luke Hobson in bronze.
Such margins define swimming and its compelling nature at the very top. The pressure of the Olympics, combined with this thunderous atmosphere, which resembled a rock concert as much as a gala, ensured an unforgettable battle.
Indeed, Richards was not overly concerned by his semi-final result, telling TheIndependent that swimming comes down to “the mental edge”.
It was curious to wonder whether this refreshing mentality helped him to contend with the debate swirling around the Games and swimming’s tactics. The psychological impact of lane assignment for finals is debated furiously, but Richards, who won world gold last year in Fukuoka from lane two, adapted marvellously from lane one here.
On reflection, Richards can revel in a storming start, which set up the silver medal here. He tooik the race out hard, an audacious move saw him just a tenth of a second off the lead at 50m and then placed second and just 0.40secs behind Lukas Maertens at the half-way stage. The German’s lead must have sent shivers down the competition, given his strength from a 400m freestyle gold already.
But Richards would not relent, out of sight and perhaps out of mind in lane one, he slashed his way down the final 50m to step out of the relay shadows and into the limelight. At 21 years of age, Great Britain has a star.
