Matt Richards chasing closing piece of medal assortment in Glasgow

Olympic and world champion Matt Richards has one major prize left to win, and the Welsh swimmer says he is determined to complete his medal collection by claiming Commonwealth Games gold at Glasgow 2026.

Once framed as the rising of British swimming, Matt Richards is now living up to those expectations – and then some.

The 23-year-old has become one of the most reliable names in the pool for Britain over the past five years and has his sights set on continuing his reign at the top this summer at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Richards first made his name as the young gun in a flying men’s 4x200m freestyle squad for Team GB at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Just 18 at the time, he teamed up with Duncan Scott, Tom Dean and James Guy to soar to gold, just milliseconds off the world record, and has been a staple of the British squad ever since.

Now one of the most experienced names on the team, despite still being only 23 years old, Richards is a two-time Olympic champion, individual 200m freestyle Olympic silver medallist and three-time world champion.

However, the one major competition he has never medalled in is the Commonwealth Games, having finished fifth in the men’s 200m freestyle at Birmingham 2022.

The Welshman is ready to remedy that this summer.

“[Birmingham] was my first Commonwealth Games, and it did not go the way I would have liked it to have gone,” Richards told Olympics.com

“But four years later, I am going in with some very clear targets and very clear goals – and a bit of a chip on my shoulder for what I want to prove to myself and do for Wales and my family back home.”

One year on from that fifth-place finish, with Scott taking the gold in Birmingham, Richards hit back with the ultimate reward as he was crowned world champion in Fukuoka.

Olympic silver arrived the following year before victory at the 2026 Aquatics GB Championships in 1:44.77, the second fastest time in the world this year.

The 2026 national championships also saw him clinch a men’s 100m freestyle three-peat, only further showcasing his strength and versatility. Born in Worcester to a Welsh father, Richards made the decision to represent his dad’s side of the family from a young age, always classing himself as Welsh.

It means that the four heroes of the British men’s 4x200m freestyle team that added their second world title in 2025 will be split between all four nations in Glasgow. Wales’ Richards is joined by Scott in Scotland colours, Guy for England and Jack McMillan in Northern Irish green.

Add Dean back into the fray and the consistently blazing pace of Australia’s Kyle Chalmers and the men’s 200m freestyle at Glasgow is not for the faint of heart.

“It’s very rare that you’ll ever see the British 4x200m lads competing against each other with different caps on like that,” Richards said. “It’s something that we’re all very much looking forward to, just embracing that challenge and the opportunity to go head-to-head for our home nations.”

In the years since Birmingham 2022, Richards’ rise in the pool has taken place alongside his growing partnership with coach Ryan Livingstone.

The two first paired up at Millfield just months before the last Commonwealth Games and are now the beating heart of Manchester Performance Centre, having made the move up north together following the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Livingstone is one of the coaches of the Team England set-up at Glasgow 2026 but is staying loyal to his student, continuing to coach Richards on his way to a hopeful first Commonwealth medal.

“Commonwealths is that one meet for me that has really gotten away and it happens to be the one that’s the only opportunity I get to race for Wales,” he said.

“It is one that is close to my heart and one that I am going to be going at pretty hard this year. It is also the last remaining major met that I’ve not won gold at. The main thing for me is to put on that Welsh dragon, get out there and bring back some gold.”

Glasgow 2026 will also bring an intriguing rivalry in the Richards’ family, with his wife Emily Richards (née Large) swimming for Team England this summer.

The pair got married post-Paris 2024, with plenty of their British teammates in attendance, but will now put aside any marital loyalties as they bid to win gold for their respective nations.

It marks Emily’s own Commonwealth Games debut, meaning that husband and wife will step into the athlete’s village once more after becoming the first married couple to compete for Great Britain in swimming at the 2025 World Championships.

Away from the pool, Richards is also building his profile as a businessman, having set up his own company to connect athletes to sponsor deals earlier this year.

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