Daniel Jervis and Matthew Richards booked their places at the Paris Olympic Games on an electric day of swimming at the Speedo Aquatics GB Swimming Championships.
The distance star and the sprint king top-and-tailed a successful night for Welsh athletes at the London Aquatics Centre.
The evening began with the 1500m Freestyle Fastest Heat, in which Jervis needed to not only see off a strong field, but complete the 30 laps in under 14:54.29. Despite the best efforts of Tobias Robinson, the Tokyo finalist surged to a dominant victory to earn a place at his second Olympic Games.
Richards faced a battle of Britain like no other as he went head-to-head with GB teammates and Olympic champions Duncan Scott and Tom Dean. With the pressure cranked up to the max, Richards was the coolest man in the capital as he powered to a landmark victory.
His time of 47.84 was comfortably inside the nomination time of 48.06, and he can now look ahead to the 50 and 200 Freestyle events this weekend. And despite sealing a place on the plane, Richards is far from done.
“It’s a great result for the team as a whole,” he said. “To be honest I thought I was capable of going a bit quicker, I don’t think it was the best executed race for me but I can’t complain and I’ve left plenty in the tank to improve this summer.
“That race was just as high pressure as an Olympic final because if you don’t do well you aren’t going. It was a great opportunity to prepare for the summer and I like the pressure. I like being in lane four and delivering for the people in the arena.
“The 50 and 200 are on the weekend and they are really important to me, there is still a lot I want to deliver.”
1500m Freestyle Paris Final
Jervis set the early pace with and Tobias Robinson and Tyler Melbourne-Smith in tow. Robinson, who recently qualified for the open water event in Paris, stuck with Jervis despite an electric early going and pushed the Swansea University swimmer all the way.
At the halfway mark, Jervis held a three-second lead over his nearest challenger Robinson as he finished his 15th lap in 7:21.80. He did not look back from there as he stormed home in 14:47.94 to finish comfortably inside the nomination time of 14:54.29.
“That was so much harder than getting to Tokyo,” said Jervis. “Since Tokyo it has been a mental battle, I’m not a young swimmer anymore and the training sessions hurt the next morning!
“That meant so much to me. It takes a village to get to the Olympics and I wouldn’t be stood here if it wasn’t for my coach Adam Baker. He’s nurtured me from a normal swimmer to a double Olympian. What a moment.”
Women’s 50m Free B Final
Theodora Taylor clinched victory in the 200m Breaststroke B final on Wednesday, and she displayed her range as she sprinted to top-spot in the 50m Freestyle B final. The 15-year-old took on an experienced field but once again showed not only her maturity, but also her power and technique to take the touch in 25.65. City of Cardiff’s Harriet Jones finished eighth as she builds towards her favoured Butterfly events.
Women’s 50m Free Junior Final
In the junior final, Cardiff’s Libby Broder was just 15 hundredths of a second away from a medal as she finished fifth in a time of 26.40 ahead of eighth place Sophie Davies, who touched the wall in 26.71.
Men’s 400m IM Paris Final
Will Ryley delivered an impressive performance to make a final in which Max Litchfield set a new British Record. From lane one, Cardiff athlete Ryley bided his time during the Butterfly and Backstroke before accelerating through the 100m of Breaststroke. He saved a final burst for the Freestyle leg where he drove forward to claim a fifth place finish in 4:22.60.
Men’s 100m Freestyle B Final
After dipping under the 49 second mark for the first time in the heats, Dan Jones could count himself unlucky not to feature in the Men’s Paris 100m Free final. Instead, he took the middle lane in a fast B final containing the likes of Lewis Burras and Ed Mildred. Despite the world-class opposition, Jones showed composure in the opening 50 before unleashing his sprint speed down the home straight to triumph in 49.06, just 0.03 seconds ahead of Calvin Fry in second.
