Team GB won two medals on day four, with the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team retaining their gold medal and Nathan Hales claiming gold in the men’s trap shooting along with an Olympic record.
James Guy, Tom Dean, Matt Richards and Duncan Scott retained their title to give Team GB their first Olympic gold in the pool of the Paris Games.
Richards had come within two-hundredths of a second of winning the individual event, settling instead for silver, as did Adam Peaty, who lost by an identical margin in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
But there was no need for a photo finish on Tuesday evening as while Team GB led by just half a second after the final exchange, Scott pulled away on the anchor leg to seal an ultimately comfortable win.
A time of six minutes and 59.43 seconds was 1.35 secs ahead of runners-up the United States, while bronze medallists Australia were a further 1.2 seconds back.
Scott’s leg of 1min 43.95 secs was the race’s fastest and would have won him gold in the individual event on Monday, when he finished a disappointing fourth, just 0.08s off bronze and 0.15s off top spot.
“I think we are the first male or female team to defend a relay title, and there have been so many great individual athletes in that run,” said Scott.
“When we come together as a team, it is really special. Me and Jimmy [James Guy] were part of the team in 2016, and to get three Olympic medals in a row is amazing.
“I am just so proud of what we were all able to do out there. It was so loud, the atmosphere was phenomenal – the French team were in there so it was amazing.
“I am just proud of how we all swam our legs. Jimmy did a lifetime best this morning, his best since 2015, and then Tom and Matt also brought it back so strong. I am buzzing with that.”
Hales picks up gold and sets Olympic record in trap shooting
Olympic debutant Nathan Hales came away with the gold medal in trap shooting on Tuesday for Team GB, setting the Olympic record after hitting 48/50 targets.
The Chatham 28-year-old claimed a new Olympic record of 48 out of 50 to beat Chinese silver medallist Ying Qi by four shots.
Hales, who is married to former GB Olympian Charlotte Kerwood, had earlier booked his place in the six-strong final in second place.
Making his Olympic debut, Hales continued to show few signs of nerves, missing just one of 25 shots in the first phase of the final to rank top, one in front of his Chinese rival.
Heading into the final phase in which the lowest-scoring shooter was eliminated after every five shots, Hales nudged in front by one after 35, the cut-off point at which he was guaranteed an Olympic medal.
“The final was great and I’m so happy to get an Olympic record as well as winning the Olympics,” Hales said.
“I just try and keep everything as we always do and treat it exactly the same way I treat finals in training. I just push through and keep focused on what I’m doing, not on what other athletes are doing.”
Jean Pierre Brol Cardenas of Guatemala was next to fall, but such was Hales’ advantage by this point that the 10-shot shoot-off for gold saw him edge further clear to win by four.
The medal is Team GB’s third gold so far at the Paris Games and Hales also holds the world record in men’s trap (49/50).
Biles triumphant with Team USA as Team GB agonisingly close to medal
“The Redemption Tour” ended in a familiar spot for Simone Biles: atop the Olympic podium.
The American gymnastics star and her singular brilliance powered a dominant USA women’s team in the finals as they secured a gold medal.
With Biles at her show-stopping best, the Americans’ total of 171.296 was well clear of Italy and Brazil and the exclamation point of a yearlong run in which Biles has cemented her legacy as the greatest ever in her sport, and among the best in the history of the Olympics.
It was agonisingly close for Team GB as they came in fourth place, a stellar effort after qualifying in seventh.
Becky Downie pulled out a sensational performance on the uneven bars but Brazil, led by Rebeca Andrade, had too much quality on the day.
“I knew that every point one counts in a team final,” said Downie.
“We said at the start we would go all out and we left everything out there on the floor.
“I’m so proud of them, we couldn’t have done anymore. We did everything we possibly could. We went for broke.
“To be that close in such a big comp is really hard but hopefully these guys will be back and have more finals to come.”
Who else featured for Team GB on Tuesday?
Andy Murray and Dan Evans won another epic men’s doubles match as they saved two match points on their way to a 6-3 6-7 (8-10), 11-9 win over Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.
Heather Watson and Katie Boulter were also in brilliant form as they beat Germans Laura Siegemund and Angelique Kerber 6-2, 6-3 in the first round of the women’s doubles.
Watson was then straight into mixed doubles action alongside Joe Salisbury but they lost 7-5, 4-6, 10-3 to Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada.
The last remaining Brit in the singles, Jack Draper, lost his second-round match 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 2-6 to seventh seed Taylor Fritz.
Emma Wilson continued her strong performance in the women’s windsurfing, winning three of the fives races on Tuesday and finishing second in another.
She is now 17 points clear at the top of the standings after seven races ahead of Friday’s medal race.
Joe Clarke’s excellent second run of 85.62 in he canoe slalom saw him qualify for the semi-finals in fourth, while Tokyo silver medallist Mallory Franklin qualified sixth for the women’s C1 semi-finals, with both semi-finals taking place tomorrow.
In the rowing, Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne and Rebecca Wilde finished second in their heat to qualify for the women’s doubles sculls final.
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