Matt Richards has revealed how going back to school helped the 20-year-old Welsh swimming star become world champion. Richards was part of British Swimming’s national performance centre, based in Bath, but decided to make a switch after some below par performances in 2022.

World champion Matt Richards heads five Welsh swimmers who have been invited on to British Swimming’s World Class Programme (WCP) for the 2023-2024 season. With just over nine months to go until the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, world and Olympic gold medal winner Richards is joined by Daniel Jervis, Medi Harris, Tyler Melbourne-Smith and Hector Pardoe.

Matt Richards believes he can stay on top of the world after the Welsh swimming sensation became a double world champion in Japan. With next year’s Olympics already in his sights, Richards soared to the top of the podium in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships on Friday.

Matt Richards and Medi Harris have put Welsh swimming on the world stage once more after more notable achievements for the pair at the World Aquatics Championships in Japan. Richards broke the men’s 100m freestyle British record on a night that saw five Brits qualify for World Championship finals.

Matt Richards is “fearless” and could thrive under the pressure of having a “target on his back” according to Great Britain swimming legend Mark Foster. As Richards basks in the glory of becoming Wales’ first swimming world champion and one of the global stars of the sport, Foster believes the new 200m freestyle world champion can cope with the pressure of more attention

Matt Richards has revealed he feels “incredible” after becoming Wales’ first swimming world champion. The 20-year-old won the 200m freestyle gold at the World Aquatics Championships in Japan on Tuesday to become one of the global superstars of the sport. Richards – already an Olympic champion with Great Britain in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay – finished ahead of fellow Briton and Olympic champion Tom Dean, who took sliver.

Matt Richards underlined his growing status as one of the world’s top swimmers as he took the British title and powered under the World Championship qualification time in a thrilling men’s 200m freestyle final at the 2023 British Swimming Championships. The Team Wales Commonwealth Games star lowered another one of his own Welsh records by nearly a second and the 20-year-old is now the top performer in the world for the distance this year.

Dan Jervis rounded off a superb British Swimming Championships by winning a second medal in Sheffield in a new personal best. The Welsh Olympic finalist took 800m freestyle gold to add to his 1500m freestyle title won earlier in the week. Jervis (Swim Wales High Performance Centre) wound up the pace through the early lengths to move to the front of the field, with 400m freestyle champion Luke Turley (Bath Performance Centre) sitting on his feet one lane over.

Wales’ Olympic gold medalist Matt Richards was just edged out of another gold in an all-time classic Men’s 100m Freestyle final at the British Swimming Championships. In a hotly-contested final in Sheffield, Richards was one of three swimmers who finished under the World Championships consideration time.

Matt Richards closed out the 2022 short course season in record-breaking style as his stunning form continued at the Scottish National Short Course Championships. The 19-year-old claimed a haul of four gold medals, a silver and a Welsh record to boot on another impressive weekend at Glasgow’s Royal Commonwealth Pool. On day one, the Olympic gold medallist triumphed in the 100m freestyle a week on from his British record performance in Sheffield.

Matt Richards has become the second fastest British man of all time over 50m. The 19-year-old Team Wales Commonwealth Games star smashed his own personal best when he won the 50m freestyle at the 2022 Swim England Winter Championships on Friday night. Richards – Olympic Gold medal winner last year in the men’s 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay in Tokyo – won his 50m sprint event, with Welsh star Medi Harris also taking gold in the women’s 50m backstroke.

By Gareth James Matt Richards has revealed he was driven by revenge as he struck gold on another brilliant night for Welsh swimmers at the European Aquatics Championships in Rome. The Welsh ace won a gold medal as part of the Great Britain mixed 4 x 200m freestyle team on the penultimate night at, as […]