Matt Richards Takes Down Duncan Scott British Age Record

2019 BRITISH SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, April 16th – Sunday, April 21st
• Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Glasgow, Scotland
• Prelims at 10am local (5am Eastern)/Finals at 6:30pm local (1:30pm Eastern)
• SwimSwam Selection Analysis
• SwimSwam Elite Men Preview/SwimSwam Elite Women Preview
• SwimSwam Emerging Women Preview/SwimSwam Emerging Men Preview
• Final Start Lists
• Day 1 Prelims Recap/Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap/Day 2 Finals Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Recap
• Live Results

Finishing 9th in the heats and just out of the A-final of the men’s 100m freestyle for tonight was 16-year-old Matthew Richards, but he captured a couple of milestones nonetheless.

Competing on day 3 of the 2019 British Swimming Championships, the Royal Wolverhampton swimmer busted out a morning prelim time of 50.29, crushing his previous personal best mark of 50.57 from last year’s British Summer Championships. That previous PB served as the Welsh Junior Record.

Richards’ head-turning outing this morning, however, checks-in as a new British Age Group Record for 16-year-olds, overtaking the old mark of 50.67 held by none other than now-senior national record holder Duncan Scott. Scott, the reigning Commonwealth Games Champion, took the top seed this morning in 48.91.

Richards was highlighted in our Emerging Men Preview issued ahead of this meet, and you can read more about this talented young man below. We’ll see if a scratch gets Richards into the final, but he’ll at least lead the Transition Final.

Of note, British meet results show swimmers’ ages as of December 31st of the year of the meet. As such, Richards is 16, but appears as 17.

Matthew Richards – 16 (Royal Wolverhampton)

Representing Royal Wolverhampton, Matthew Richards has wreaked havoc on the age group record boards as of late. At last year’s British Summer Championships, the then 15-year-old collected a total of 7 age group medals and 2 British Records. His 100m freestyle time was particularly impressive, hacking almost 2 seconds off his previous personal best from just 3 months prior to produce the 2nd fastest time ever by a 15-year-old in 50.57.

At the Midland Winter Short Course Championships last November, the budding star surpassed Olympic medalist James Guy’s British Junior Record in the 200m freestyle with a new personal best of 1:48.36 to become the first British age grouper to ever dip under the 1:50 threshold in the 200m free. At that same meet, Richards’ 22.97 50m free prelims time overtook the previous British Junior Record. His 50m fly time of 24.69 shaved .13 off of the British Junior Record as well.

Richards most recently competed at the FFN Golden Tour in Marseille, where logged a LCM PB in the 50m free in 23.15 for 4th in the B-Final.

In the British Swimming rankings covering the last 12 months, 16-year-old Richards is ranked 15th in the 50m free, 14th in the 100m free and 13th in the 200m free.