Duncan Scott & Matt Richards Share Athlete of the Year Crown At Aquatics GB Awards
Duncan Scott and Matt Richards shared the Swimming Athlete of the Year crown at the Aquatics GB Awards in London.
The pair each won gold and silver at the Olympics in Paris, combining with Tom Dean and James Guy as the 4×200 relay clinched an historic title, three years after victory in Tokyo.
Scott also won silver in the 200IM behind Leon Marchand as he finished second in the four-length race for the second straight Games as he claimed his eighth Olympic medal to put him third in the all-time Team GB list.
Duncan Scott: Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia
He returned to international waters at the World Cup tour in October/November where he swept the 200 free triple crown with victory at each of the three legs and in Singapore elevated himself to fourth man all-time in a British and Commonwealth record of 1:39.83.
Richards was just 0.02 off gold medallist David Popovici in the 200 free in Paris. The pair were nominated for the award alongside Adam Peaty and Ben Proud, who won silvers at La Defense Arena in the 100m breaststroke and 50m freestyle respectively.
“It’s been a long year,” said Richards. “We got back in the water in August 2023 to get ready for this year – it wasn’t perfect, there were a lot of hurdles and challenges along the way.
“But I’ve had a fantastic team around me, from the people I train with to my coaching staff and my family, the people I have to support me are what has helped navigate all the things this year, and we were able to come away with a fantastic result in the summer – far from perfect, and there’s still plenty to improve on, primarily 0.03s in that 200m freestyle.
“But we’re still building, still learning and hopefully we can build on the momentum into the next four-year cycle.”
Following Paris, Richards got married to fellow swimmer Emily Large before relocating to Manchester with coach Ryan Livingstone and said: “I’m more used to standing behind the blocks these days, I’d never stood at the end of the aisle before, and Emily was 15 minutes late to walk down the aisle, so she kept me waiting! So I’d probably say I was more nervous for the wedding than the Olympic finals, as weird as that may sound!”
Scott is currently training in Australia for three weeks after having taken a well-earned rest in Bali.
Matt Richards: Photo Courtesy; Morgan Harlow, Aquatics GB
Steven Tigg saw seven of his University of Stirling swimmers to the Olympics and was named Swimming Coach of the Year. Tigg was appointed Aquatics GB head coach and will lead the team for the first time in that role at next month’s World Short-Course Championships in Budapest.
Poppy Maskill was named Champion Athlete for 2024 as Britain’s most decorated athlete at the Paralympic Games in the French capital where she won three gold medals and two silvers, as well as lowering the S14 100m butterfly world record.
Amelie Blocksidge – set for her senior international bow in Budapest – was named Swimming Emerging Athlete of the Year after winning three European junior titles in the pool and open water and claiming the distance double at the British Championships in London.
Aquatics GB Awards 2024 winners
Poppy Maskill – Maurice Watkins Champion Athlete
Poppy Maskill – Para-Swimming Athlete of the Year
Matt Richards & Duncan Scott – Swimming Athlete of the Year
Noah Williams – Diving Athlete of the Year
Kate Shortman & Izzy Thorpe – Artistic Swimming Athlete of the Year
Kathy Rogers & Sophie Jackson – Water Polo Athlete of the Year
David Heathcock – Para-Swimming Coach of the Year
Steven Tigg – Swimming Coach of the Year
Jane Figueiredo – Diving Coach of the Year
Yumiko Tomomatsu – Artistic Swimming Coach of the Year
Isobel Howe – Water Polo Coach of the Year
William Ellard – Para-Swimming Emerging Athlete of the Year
Amelie Blocksidge – Swimming Emerging Athlete of the Year
Maisie Bond – Diving Emerging Athlete of the Year
Brock Whiston – Contribution to Social Impact