'Welcome home': Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold winner Matt Richards returns home
There's been a warm welcome home for Olympic gold medalist Matt Richards from Droitwich, Worcestershire.
The 18-year-old took gold in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay alongside teammates Duncan Scott, Tom Dean and James Guy, with the quartet finishing just 0.03 seconds outside of the world record.
Family and friends lined the street with a party to celebrate his return.
Speaking about his experience, Matt said: "It's a bit different from what you expect a normal Olympics to be but for me, I've got nothing to compare it to. So, to me, that was a normal Olympic experience."
The teenager's race to victory wasn't always plain sailing. The closure of swimming pools during the Covid-19 lockdown did little to dissuade Matt Richards from training for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
He set up a swimming pool in his back garden, 1.5 metres deep and 5 metres long.
For Matt, the win has made the hard work worth it, with him adding: "Coming home to a crowd like that is definitely something special and I'll never forget that."
Meanwhile, after winning three medals, Leicestershire's Adam Peaty was greeted by his son and girlfriend as he touched down on home soil. He uploaded the reunion to social media saying it was the best feeling in the world.
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