MATT Richards won an unlikely bronze competing for Great Britain at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Lublin, Poland.
Droitwich swimmer Richards produced a fine swim from lane eight to stand on the podium in the 100m freestyle.
The 22-year-old won a dramatic swim-off to secure his place in the final and made the most of his chance to come home with a medal.
Richards crossed the line in 45.82 seconds to take bronze and set a new British record over the distance in the discipline in the process.
Richards said: “With a lane you’ve always got a chance, and you know I’m just keeping everyone on the edge of their seats.
“It’s been a rollercoaster of a week with the 200m freestyle a really bittersweet moment and being on the wrong side of the two-per-nation rule, so it was frustrating to not get to see really where I was at on that event.
“Maybe I left a little bit too much to chance on the 100m semi-final.
“I got that extra opportunity to come in, test my skills, test my racing ability and managed to get the job done in the swim-off for a lane in the final.
“I always want to be winning golds but I’ll take the wins where I can get them, I’m really enjoying the journey and this is actually my first ever senior international medal on the 100m freestyle so just to get onto the podium is the first step in the right direction for where I want to be moving this event.”
The Droitwich swimmer finished behind France’s Maxime Grousset who took gold and Croatia’s Jere Hribar who won silver.
