GB’s 4×200 Free Relay The First To Defend Gold With Same Lineup

2024 PARIS SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES

It’s been a wacky Olympics so far. Several big favorites have missed out on medals or the Olympic final. But there was a familiar sight to close out day four at these Games as James Guy, Tom Dean, Matt Richards, and Duncan Scott held hands and stepped onto the top of the men’s 4×200 freestyle relay podium together.

The quartet defended their Olympic gold medal from the Tokyo Games, which was Great Britain’s first in the event since 1908. We’ve seen countries defend their Olympic relay golds, but until tonight we’d never seen a country do it with the same four swimmers. 

By winning the men’s 4×200 freestyle in Paris, the British team achieved a remarkable feat: it is the first time ever that successive relay teams win the gold medal with the identical line up in Olympic swimming history. pic.twitter.com/cfBiTtEMw1

— Swimming Stats (@SwimmingStats) July 30, 2024

It’s a special moment for the four, who have worked steadily to make the 200 freestyle such a strong event for Team GB. The work for these wins began long before Tokyo; Guy and Scott contributed to the team’s 4×200 free relay silver medal at the 2016 Olympics. They were a part of the squads in 2015 and 2017 that won gold at the World Championships; Guy won the individual 200 free in 2015 as well.

The Tokyo Games helped solidify Great Britain’s 200 freestyle dominance as Dean and Scott went 1-2 in the individual event. That performance and the relay gold kicked off an impressive quad. They won gold in this relay at the 2023 World Championships, improving their bronze from 2022. In Fukuoka, we saw Richards breakout as he won a world title in his first individual Worlds final. The Brits got another 1-2 performance there, as Dean followed up bronze in 2022 with a silver.

Scott said it best after the race, telling The Guardian, “Whenever we come together it’s always really special. 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.” 

He ended that sentiment by saying all he needed to do was “float home,” an incredibly modest way to frame his 1:43.95 split, the fastest in the field. Great Britain led the entire race but that isn’t something that simply happens to a team. They got another strong lead-off from Guy, who in the heats swam his first personal best in the event since 2015. Dean maintained the lead with a 1:45.26.

Earlier this session, Richards missed the 100 freestyle final. He described his feelings on silver in the 200 freestyle yesterday as “over the moon and incredibly frustrated.” Scott, the defending silver medalist, had even more reason for frustration yesterday after finishing 4th, .08 seconds off the podium. But both put their frustrations aside and focus on the present moment. Richards split 1:45.11 and Scott did his thing on the anchor, bringing the Brits home for a decisive win in 6:59.43. 

After the race, Dean spoke about managing frustrations to The Guardian, “The last three years haven’t been in a straight line for anyone, me, Jimmy, Matt, or Duncan.” “We’ve all had our challenges, and we’ve all made a lot of changes,” he continued, “but we’ve all stepped up here in the Olympics and that’s what really unites us.” 

Richards agreed. “We’re good friends, we’ve won together, lost together, we’ve fought hard at trials to beat each other. So the four of us share a bond that we’re going to have together for the rest of our lives,” he explained. 

Each member of the quartet’s ability to put aside the individual and focus on the team has been one of the sustaining factors of their squad. When it’s time for the relay, it doesn’t matter which swimmers got the two individual slots or where they placed. There’s only the relay in front of them and the trust they have in each other. And not only has that combination of perseverance and talent earned them two gold medals, it’s now helped them write a “first” in Olympic history. 

But achieving this special moment doesn’t mean they’ve done all want to do. “We’ll just have to do it four more years,” said Guy in the same interview.

Onwards to 2028. 

Day 4 Quick Hits

• Daniel Wiffen picked up where Mona McSharry left off yesterday when she won Ireland’s first medal since 1996 with bronze in the women’s 100 breast. Wiffen struck gold in the men’s 800 freestyle final today, becoming the first Irishman to medal in the pool and the country’s first gold medallist since 1996. Wiffen took the win in style, holding off a charging Bobby Finke in a new Olympic and European record of 7:38.19. He lowered the European record when he swam at the 2023 World Championships, where he just missed the medals in 4th place. Today, he stood on top of the medal podium and became the 5th fastest performer of all time. “I always knew I had it in my head, I just had to put it in the pool,” Wiffen said. “I’ve done so much work in the past four years. I’ve been training so hard, I knew something was coming, something special.”
• Gregorio Paltrinieri made his mark on history in the same event. By winning bronze in the 800 freestyle, he became the first Italian to medal at three Olympics. He also completes his Olympic set, as he’s previously won gold and silver. Paltrinieri won bronze in the 800 freestyle in 7:39.38, missing his Italian record from 2019 by .11 seconds and breaking 7:40 for the second time in his career. It’s a big rebound for Paltrinieri, who withdrew from the 2023 World Championships because of an injury after finishing 8th in the 800 free.
• The European men continue their reign at these Olympic Games. Their individual event streak lives on as Wiffen claimed gold in the men’s 800 freestyle. Now, they’ve won all six individual male events on offer. As the British men won gold in the men’s 4×200 freestyle relay, the only event that European men haven’t won is the 4×100 freestyle relay, which the U.S. won on day one.

More Day 4 Continental and National Records

• Kregor Zirk reset his Estonian record to make the men’s 200 butterfly final. Zirk swam a 1:54.22, lowering the record by 1.26 seconds. He’d set the mark earlier this season at the 2024 World Championships. The swim also resets his Baltic record.
• Adell Sabovic took down a 12-year-old Kosovan record during today’s prelims. Sabovic, who just wrapped up his collegiate career at Princeton, swam 51.77 in the men’s 100 freestyle prelims. He obliterated the national record of 54.77 swum by Lum Zhaveli that had stood since 2012.
• Jana Pavalić broke her Croatian record in the women’s 100 freestyle prelims. Pavalić clocked 55.77 for her first sub-56 outing, breaking the record of 56.09 that she set at the 2022 European Junior Championships by .32 seconds.

European Medal Table Thru Day 4