Matt Richards missed out on a stunning Olympic gold by two hundredths of a second but took a thrilling silver in the 200m freestyle in Paris.
Out in lane one after only qualifying seventh fastest, Richards, 21, came agonisingly close as Romania’s rising star David Popovici, 19, touched first to win gold by a fingertip.
The margin was the same as what separated Adam Peaty from gold on Sunday, with just 0.15 seconds separating the top four in a sprint to the wall.
Luke Hobson of the United States was 0.05 seconds behind Richards for bronze while GB’s Duncan Scott narrowly missed out on the medals in fourth.
So close was the margin, Richards – who won gold as part of the 4x200m relay in Tokyo – said he felt as though he had touched the wall first and taken gold.
“I thought I had got it,” he told the BBC. “It wasn’t my best finish.
“I can’t be too disappointed. My first individual [event] at an Olympic Games.
“Obviously two one hundredths off gold is excruciatingly frustrating. If anything it has added more fire to my belly.”
The medal was Team GB’s sixth of day three and takes their overall total to 10.
In the previous race, Britain’s Freya Colbert was fourth in the 400m medley, missing out on a medal by 0.74 seconds, as 17-year-old Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh won the first of what will surely be many Olympic golds.
