Brits take gold in men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay

The British men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay team retained their World Championship title as they took gold in a new British Record on day six of the FINA World Swimming Championships.

The quartet of James Guy, Stephen Milne, Duncan Scott and Nicholas Grainger were almost a second faster than the rest of the field.

They made it to the wall in 7:01.70, beating their old national marker of 7:03.13 to win silver at last summer’s Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Guy swam the fastest split with a 1:43.80 anchor leg, despite setting an individual British 100m Fly record earlier on in the session.

City of Sheffield swimmer Grainger said: “That was amazing. I can’t get enough of it. Standing on that podium was absolutely fantastic. Having a team like this is just brilliant.

“When James touched at that finish I almost took Duncan out running in for the hug. I was having the time of my life. I can’t properly put it into words.

“This is an amazing team to be a part of but it’s more than this quartet. This morning we saw Calum put together an amazing swim which put us in a great lane tonight and ultimately put us on the top step of the podium.”

Guy breaks British record twice

Guy was in fine form on day six, breaking the 100m Butterfly British record twice on his way to the final.

The double Olympic relay medallist was quick in the morning’s heats. He made it to the wall in 51.16, breaking a record that had stood for eight years. Guy was exactly a quarter of a second faster than Michael Rock’s 51.41 at the Rome 2009 World Championships.

But the Millfield swimmer didn’t stop there. He also powered his way into the final as the second fastest qualifier. He shaved yet more from the British record, taking the marker down to 50.67.

Proud sails comfortably into 50m freestyle final

Ben Proud looked to have his eye on another medal as he qualified third fastest for the men’s 50m Freestyle final. The Plymouth Leander swimmer, who claimed gold in the 50m fly on day one, touched in 21.60 alongside Brazil’s Bruno Fratus.

Proud commented: “After the gold in the Fly event I’m building myself back into this Freestyle so 21.6 it was definitely a good place.

“Going in tied third makes it interesting. We have to see how the lane placement is going to go. Going next to Caeleb Dressel is quite an experience because his dive is phenomenal. It’s going to be one of the fastest 50m free finals in a long time and it’s good to be a part of it.”

Molly Renshaw was also back in action this evening, putting in a solid effort in the women’s 200m Breaststroke final. She had gone into the final seventh fastest, and managed to improve on her position in the final to finish sixth. Renshaw touched in 2:22.96.

  • Click here to view full results from day two finals of the FINA World Swimming Championships.
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