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If Matt Richards is ever lacking motivation, he need only look down at his right hand. ‘I have got the Olympic rings tattooed there and that is really important to me,’ says the new star of British swimming.
‘I get to see it every time I go down on the blocks and it’s the last thing I see before I dive in. That is very inspiring for me when I am racing and training.’
Could those five rings now inspire the 21-year-old to collect five medals? That is Richards’ ambitious target at next summer’s Olympics in Paris — and it would be a first for a Briton.
Fellow swimmer Duncan Scott is currently Team GB’s most decorated athlete at a single Olympics, with four medals at Tokyo 2020 including a gold alongside Richards in the 4x200metres freestyle relay.
But Richards admits: ‘There is a hell of a lot of medal potential in Paris. Five would be the most that any Brit has ever won and that has got to be the target.
Matt Richards is aiming to win five gold medals at the Paris Olympics, after claiming gold at the 4x200m relay at the games in Tokyo back in 2020
Richards (third from left) brought home three medals from the World Championships in the summer winning gold in the 200m freestye and 4x200m freestyle relay
But an individual gold is the main target for Richards, with the Swimmer here being pictured receiving an MBE back in 2021
‘It is no easy feat. It is a ridiculous number of medals to win at one Olympics. But we are preparing to try and bring home as many as we possibly can.’
Having brought home three medals from the World Championships in the summer, Richards knows what can be done. At Fukuoka, he won golds in the 200m freestyle — Britain’s only individual victory — and 4x200m freestyle relay, plus a bronze in the 4x100m mixed freestyle relay, which is not an Olympic event.
At Paris 2024, he will also look to improve on his fifth-place finishes in the 100m freestyle and 4x100m medley relay, as well as win a medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay. His top priority, though, is an individual gold.
‘I am more motivated than I have ever been,’ insists Richards, who will next compete at the World Championships in Doha in February. ‘I have stood on top of the podium in an Olympics as part of a relay and now I’ve stood on top of a podium individually at a World Championships. So now I want to try and marry the two together and get a gold at the Olympics.’
Despite being a world champion, the Welshman must still actually seal his selection for the Paris Games. Britain can only pick two swimmers for the 200m freestyle and in their ranks they also have Tom Dean, the Olympic champion and world silver medallist, and Scott, the Olympic silver medallist.
It means there will be a mouthwatering duel in the pool at the British Championships — which doubles up as the Olympic trials — at the London Aquatics Centre in April.
‘It is definitely a unique situation to have,’ admits Richards, who capped his landmark year with two more golds at the European Short Course Championships earlier this month. ‘But I love how fierce that rivalry is going to be at the British
