Gold Medal for Duncan Scott as Team GB win men's 4x200 relay

Scottish swimmer Duncan Scott has won his second medal of the Olympic Games in the men’s 4×200 metres freestyle relay.

Scott becomes the first Scot to win Gold at Tokyo 2020, but it was a team effort that sealed victory for Team GB at the city’s aquatics centre on Wednesday morning.

Following his victory on Tuesday, Tom Dean became the first British male swimmer to win more than one gold medal at a single Games since 1908.

Dean started solidly if unspectacularly, perhaps feeling the exertions of his recent endeavours, and it was Guy who got Team GB into the lead at halfway before Matthew Richards and Duncan Scott closed the show in style.

The time of six minutes and 58.58 seconds set a new European benchmark and was just three hundredths of a second behind the world record still held by a Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte inspired United States 12 years ago.

It was a special moment for Guy, who won two relay silvers at Rio 2016 and finished fourth in the individual 200m freestyle event there. Having finally scaled the mountain, he was in tears by the time Scott touched the wall.

Scott was runner-up to Dean the day before in a historic one-two finish but the Glaswegian’s effort on Wednesday made sure Britain scooped their third swimming gold at an Olympics for the first time in 113 years.

Dean, who revealed he has had coronavirus twice inside the past year, said: “It feels pretty special. Double Olympic champion sounds pretty good. The last 24 hours have been unreal, a complete whirlwind.

“This was our best, best, best case scenario. The way Jimmy and I have been training in Bath and the times he’s been dropping, I’ve never had a shadow of doubt in my mind and it came together like we knew it would.”

His earlier success was followed by a video emerging showing his family and friends celebrating in his hometown of Maidenhead. Asked whether his latest gold would bring more of the same he replied: “They might be. They love it.”

The Russian Olympic Committee took silver, pipping third-placed Australia by three hundredths of a second, but the teams were more than three seconds behind Britain, thanks to a late surge from Scott.

“It meant quite a lot, (especially to) myself and Jimmy,” said Scott, who now has a gold medal to go with his three Olympic silvers. “It was great to do it with him.”

The United States had won this event at the past four Olympics but, without Phelps and Lochte, they settled for fourth.