Tokyo Olympics: Welsh swimming duo end 109-year wait for Games gold
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Matthew Richards (right), James Guy and Calum Jarvis (left) in action in Tokyo
Tokyo Olympic Games on the BBC |
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Dates: 23 July-8 August Time in Tokyo: BST +8 |
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You wait 109 years for a Welsh Olympic gold medal swimmer and then two come along at once.
Matthew Richards and Calum Jarvis were part of Team GB's men's winning 4x200m freestyle squad in Tokyo.
The last Welsh swimming gold medal had been back in 1912 when Irene Steer was part of a 4x100m relay quartet in Stockholm.
Paolo Radmilovic had managed swimming gold four years previously and also celebrated three water polo triumphs in 1908, 1912 and 1920.
Since Steer's success, Wales has celebrated medals for Valerie Davies, Martyn Woodroffe, Jazz Carlin and David Davies but not one of these stellar names managed that elusive top podium position.
Tokyo Olympics: Tom Dean & Duncan Scott lead Team GB to 4x200m freestyle relay gold
Richards, still just 18, swam a brilliant third leg in Japan as he joined individual champion Tom Dean, silver medallist Duncan Scott and ex-world champion James Guy.
"When you are racing with guys like this, having a great leg comes easy," said Richards.
"When they are setting you off as they did and then you have one of the best freestylers in the world going straight behind you, the privilege and confidence that gives for somebody my age, money can't but that."
Richards broke the Welsh record during the race and is in line to compete for Wales for the first time next year at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
"We're just delighted for him," says Matt Richards' mother Amanda
The teenager was born in England but has strong links with Wales through his father Steve. Richards would train at his school in Worcester and was a talented junior, winning the European junior title over 100m just two years ago.
Since then he has enjoyed a rapid rise to the top and graduated to the elite programme at Bath University.
At April's Olympic trials, he broke Welsh senior records in both the men's 100m and 200m freestyle on his way to securing his place in Tokyo and brought back three medals from May's European Championships.
Pool party
The year delay enabled Richards to qualify for the Olympics and he and his family have shown ingenuity to cope with the pandemic.
Most notably after the first lockdown he trained in a cold outdoor pool at home.
"I've said for a very long time, it didn't matter to us how far he got, it was helping him to get however far that's going to be," said dad Steve.
Matt Richards in training in his back garden
"The way swimming works, at the end of every season they have a couple of weeks off to relax and decompress and after that, Matt is already twitching and can't wait to get back into the water. So the idea of not knowing when he was going to get in the water was a real problem for him.
"When the first lockdown happened and Covid struck globally, that was a difficult time for him. We saw online a Dutch open water swimmer doing something similar and it was a case of we've got to do that, so we found a glorified swimming pool.
"It's technically called an over ground pool, it was 3m wide, 5m long and just over 1m deep.
"We attached some bungee cords to the garage wall and he was in and just swimming hour after hour in his wetsuit that his sponsors sent to him, and just keeping a feel for the water."
The installation was not plain sailing.
"We had a few hiccups in setting it all up," added mum Amanda.
"We had to make sure the pool was deep enough because his arms are so long and then it was a case of trial and error with the bungee cords.
"We had a slight hiccup with one of them where he was pulling so hard against it he removed the hook from the end of the cord and it twanged and hit him in the back which was quite painful.
Matthew Richards was part of the six Welsh swimmers who went to the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics
"The dog wasn't very impressed, every time Matt got in the pool he thought he was drowning, so he'd run around the pool barking his head off.
"It wasn't the best training environment, but it did the job, helped keep him mentally on an even keel all through that period."
Worth the wait
Jarvis is at the other end of the age scale at 29 but it was also his first Games after a long career.
He had a different experience in Tokyo having swum in the heats before dropping out for the final but his exploits were also rewarded with a gold medal, presented back stage rather than on the podium. A 'Fab Five' rather than 'Fab Four' if you like.
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He was born in the Rhondda before relocating to south west England at an early age and trained at Bath. He won a bronze for Wales in the 200m freestyle at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014.
Jarvis also married fellow Welsh swimmer Jemma Jarvis (nee Lowe) last year who reached two Olympics finals in 2008 and 2012.
"I am so happy for all the boys," said Jemma.
"That relay team has done so well for the past five to seven years. They have won the World Championships twice and this Olympics was the dream.
"Callum missed out on the Rio Olympics so this was his first Games and it has been delayed an extra year. So he has been hanging on just chasing that dream and it is the best result for him.
"It was so difficult. We got married last year and the original plan was for Calum to go the Olympics and then get married and we would celebrate everything.
"It was the longest he had been out of the pool since he was eight years old. It was about 10-12 weeks. Then there was so much uncertainty this year whether the Games would go ahead.
"It makes this extra special."
Calum Jarvis was part of the GB 4x200m freestyle relay team that won gold at the World Championships in 2015 and 2017
Inspire a generation
Swim Wales national performance director Ross Nicholas hailed a memorable achievement with six Welsh swimmers travelling to Tokyo.
"It is a fantastic day, an historic one for Welsh swimming and we are all so proud of the boys," he said.
"I've known both of them since they were young lads. They are both such awesome guys in and out of the pool, consummate professionals and no one deserves this success more than them.
"We have had a good recent history in the pool at international level, I think over the last five years we have won close to 30 medals at Commonwealth, European, world and Olympics.
"This probably tops it all. The big hope from these guys producing these performances, is not only making us proud, but they will also inspire that next generation."
Double Olympic silver medallist Jazz Carlin says success could not have been achieved without investment in athlete support and facilities.
"From the incredible facilities and all the support teams that we've had from Sport Wales, it definitely makes a difference," Carlin told BBC Radio Wales.
"They play such a huge part. They're the team behind these athletes that can really shape the future and really shape those races because it makes such a huge impact on your performance."