DOUBLE World champion swimmer Matt Richards has received a nomination for the Athlete Award, for the biggest performance turnaround or breakthrough, at the PLx Awards hosted by UK Sport.
The Droitwich swimmer, has enjoyed early success on the international stage, winning gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay aged just 17.
And Richards backed up that display by winning men’s 200 freestyle gold at the 2023 World Championships earlier this year.
He also won gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay and bronze in the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay while he set a new British record in the 100m freestyle.
That came after he pipped 2020 Olympic champion Tom Dean and silver medallist Duncan Scott to 200m freestyle glory at the British Championships to become British champion.
Richards, who trains under coach Ryan Livingstone, said: “It’s an honour. Anytime you get recognised for the work that do in the pool, it’s always a nice bonus – it’s not why you do it, but it’s always very special to feel like you’ve been recognised for that.
“Coming off the back of a tough year in 2022, to be able to have turned it around and done such a good job this season was really special, and now it’s all about building forwards and continuing to improve, and hopefully we can do the country proud next year.”
Richards forms part of a 35-strong British Swimming squad set to compete at the European Short Course Swimming Championships at the start of next month.
To find out more about the PLx Awards, hosted by UK Sport and powered by The National Lottery, visit: www.uksport.gov.uk
