Matt Richards reveals he thought he had touched the wall FIRST after missing out on Olympic gold medal in 200m freestyle final to David Popovici by 0.02sec – as Brit claims he now has ‘more fire in my belly’

Matt Richards stated he believed he had touched the wall first in the 200-meter freestyle final, ultimately finishing just 0.02 seconds shy of gold.

The reigning world champion claimed silver as Romanian David Popovici clinched the victory with a time of 1 minute 44.74 seconds.

Richards felt he reached the wall first but suggested Popovici’s longer arms provided him an advantage in pushing harder against the pad.

‘It felt like I finished first,’ said the 21-year-old. ‘I was confident I had it, although it wasn’t my best finish.’

‘This sport operates on clear results. The scoreboard is definitive.’

Matt Richards secured a silver medal for Great Britain in the 200m freestyle final on Monday evening

He narrowly lost gold to Romanian David Popovici by two-hundredths of a second

Richards expressed immense pride but mentioned he thought he had clinched victory

‘That’s due to my finish, and my technical skill to transfer pressure into the wall,’ he remarked.

‘If I touched the wall first but didn’t apply enough pressure, that’s not the wall’s fault; that’s on me.

‘Last year at the World Championships, I won by two hundredths of a second. This year, I placed second by the same margin. It’s always a tight race, and that’s just the nature of the sport.

‘Winning an individual Olympic silver medal is monumental; it’s something I’ve aspired to since childhood.

‘However, I would be dishonest if I said I wasn’t dreaming of standing one step higher on the podium.’

Richards’ narrow defeat mirrored Adam Peaty’s margin in the 100m breaststroke final the night prior. Nonetheless, Richards is determined to claim gold for Team GB, beginning with the 4x200m freestyle relay on Tuesday, followed by his individual 100m freestyle event.

‘If anything, this fuels my competitive spirit,’ Richards added. ‘I have more events ahead this week. Both the 100m and 4x200m are coming up. I’ll aim to convert this silver medal into gold.’

Richards emphasized that the close finish has sparked ‘more drive’ within him

While joyous, Richards conveyed his continued aspiration for an individual Olympic gold

Luke Hobson from the United States took home the bronze medal, while Britain’s Duncan Scott finished fourth, merely 0.08 seconds away from medal contention.

Scott had previously earned silver in the 200m freestyle at Tokyo 2020, trailing his teammate Tom Dean by just 0.04 seconds.

‘It was incredibly close again, three years later, but it is what it is,’ Scott remarked. ‘There was outstanding talent in that race, and I believed I could compete effectively tonight.

‘This time, I felt more like an underdog, whereas last time I entered as a favorite. However, I think I executed my plan well.’