Swimming is not supposed to be a team sport, but there are not many tighter units on the British Olympic squad than the quartet of James Guy, Matt Richards, Tom Dean, and Duncan Scott. They made a little history on Tuesday night, when they became the first four swimmers to successfully defend an Olympic 4x200m relay title, a race with a pedigree that stretches right back to the early 20th century. They did it in some style, too. They led from wall to wall, and finished in 6min 59.43sec, more than a second ahead of the US team who won silver.
Scott’s time, 1min 43.95sec, was the quickest split anyone turned in all night, and it needed to be. The USA’s Kieran Smith pushed him hard through the first 100m. “There’s so many great athletes in that team, and whenever we come together it’s always really special,” Scott said. “I’m so proud of what we were able to do out there. Up on the blocks I look at those guys in front of me, and you’ve got an Olympic champion in the 200m free, a world champion in the 200m free, and a world champion in the 200m free, so all I have to do is float home at the end.”
