James George Guy(born 26 November 1995) is an English competitiveswimmerwho specialises in freestyle and butterfly. Guy has won multiple gold medals at each of the major international meets available to him, including for Great Britain at theOlympic Games(3), theWorld(5) andEuropean Championships(7), and for England in theCommonwealth Games(2). In addition to further medals in those events, he has also reached the podium at both the World and European short-course championships. With 46 major medals at international championship meets, 20 at global level, he is one of the most decorated swimmers in British history.
Guy came to international prominence when he won two World Championship gold medals in the 200-metre freestyle and 4×200-metre freestyle relay event at the2015 World Aquatics Championships,and silver in the 400 metre freestyle behind controversial Chinese swimmerSun Yang.A prodigious relay swimmer, in 2016, he won silver in the4x200m freestyle relayand the4x100m medley relayat theRio Olympics,finishing 4th in the individual 200 metre freestyle event.[1]He helped defend the men's 4 x 200 metre freestyle relay world title in2017,and swam the butterfly leg to help Great Britain to gold in the 4 x 100 metre medley relay at the2019 World Aquatics Championships.Guy is a Commonwealth Games and seven-time European champion across various relay events. Guy competes in 4 x 100m freestyle, 4 x 200m freestyle, and on the butterfly legs of 4 x 100m medley relays.
In 2021, at the2020 Summer Olympics,Guy became Olympic champion, winning gold in the4 x 200 metres freestyle relayfor Great Britain withTom Dean,Duncan Scott,Matt RichardsandCalum Jarvis.He won a second Olympic title, the inaugural mixed medley relay, withAdam Peaty,Anna Hopkin,Kathleen DawsonandFreya Anderson.His third Olympic title, and sixth Olympic medal came once more in the4 x 200 metres freestyle relayat the 2024 Summer Olympics, alongside Dean, Scott and Richards, (with Keiran Bird and Jack McMillan now taking heat swims). It was the first time in the history of the event that the exact same four swimmers had defended the Olympic title.
Early life
editGuy was born inBuryto Cath and Andrew Guy and has a younger brother whose name is Luke Guy.[2][3]Guy was educated at Forest Preparatory School,Timperleyin Trafford, Greater Manchester.[4]When he was 13, he received a swimming scholarship toMillfieldinSomerset.[5][6]He was a member of Trafford Metros swimming club before he moved to Somerset.[3]
Career
editGuy won his first major medal at the2012 European Junior Championshipsin Antwerp where he finished in the bronze medal position in the 400m freestyle.[7]
In his breakthrough season in 2013, he won three medals at theWorld Junior Championshipsin Dubai, landing silver over 200m and 400m Freestyle then anchoring the British quartet to 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay gold in a Championship record. He followed that up with double gold (200m Freestyle, 4 × 200 m Freestyle) at his second European Junior Championships in Poznan.
He made his senior international debut at the2013 World Aquatics Championshipsin Barcelona, lowering his British Age Group record (17 yrs) to finish fifth in the400m Freestyle,then setting another British Age Group record (17 yrs) as the lead-off in the 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay as the British quartet finished seventh. James became the European and World Junior Champion in the 4x200 and holds the Word Junior Record in those Events.
2014–15: Emergence and World titles
edit
He came to senior prominence in 2014, Guy laid down a signal of intent with a hat-trick of golds at the British Gas Swimming Championships, taking the touch in the 200m Free, 400m Free and 200m Fly, and breaking the British record in the 400m Free. He represented England at the2014 Commonwealth Games,winning two relay medals, lowering the British record again to claim 400m Freestyle bronze for England. Thereafter, representing Great Britain, he took silver medals in the 400-metre freestyle at the FINA World Championships in both theshort course (25 metre)andlong courseformats. On 4 August 2015, he won the 200-metre freestyle at the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, the first British swimmer to win the event in its history.
He competed for England in the4x100-metre medley relayand the400-metre freestyleevents at the2014 Commonwealth Gameswhere he won a gold and bronze medal respectively.[8]
At the200-metre freestyleevent at the2015 World Aquatics Championships,Guy won the gold medal beating Olympic silver medallistSun Yangof China by six hundredths of a second.[9][10]
At the same event, Guy struck gold again in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay.Team GBwas third at the last take over, when Guy took over. He swam his 200 in a 1:44.7, the quickest time across the pool and securing Great Britain the gold medal for the first time at the worlds in this event.[citation needed]
2016: Relay success in Olympics debut
editAt theRio Olympicsin 2016, Guy won silver in the4x200m freestyle relaywithStephen Milne,Duncan Scott,andDan Wallace,and a further silver in the4x100m medley relaywithChris Walker-Hebborn,Adam Peatyand Duncan Scott. He came fourth in the individual 200m freestyle event.[1]
2017: World relay gold and transition to butterfly
editIn February 2017 Guy, alongside coach Jol Fincke, moved his training base to the National Centre for Swimming at theUniversity of Bath.[11]
At the2017 World Aquatics Championships.Guy won gold in the4x200m freestylewith Duncan Scott,Stephen MilneandNick Graingerin a time of seven minutes 1.70 seconds.[12]He shared the100m butterflybronze withJoseph Schoolingof Singapore, both recording a time of 50.83 seconds.[13]In the4x100m medley relay,he again won silver with the same Olympic line-up of Walker-Hebborn, Peaty and Scott.[14]
2018: Europeans, Commonwealth relay success and final 400m free
editAt the2018 Commonwealth Gamesheld at theGold Coast,Australia,Guy was part of the teams that won silver in the 4x200m freestyle, the 4x100m freestyle,[15][16]as well as in the 4x100m medley, finishing behind Australia in all three.[17]He also won a silver in the 100m butterfly,[18]and a bronze on400m freestyle,after which he announced that he would no longer swim the 400 metre freestyle event in competition, focusing instead on the 100 metre butterfly.[19]
At the2018 European Championships,Guy swam the anchor leg in the4 × 200 metre freestyle relay,and won the gold medal withDuncan Scott,Thomas Dean andCalum Jarvis.[20]The following day he won a second gold as part of the team in themixed 4 × 100m medley,[21]then added a third on the final day of the competition by winning as part of the British team themen's 4 × 100 metre medley relay.Individually, he took the bronze medal in the 100 metres butterfly on the final night.[22]
2019: Further World Championships success
editAt the2019 World Aquatics Championshipsheld inGwangju,South Korea, Guy won a bronze as part of the GB team in the4 × 100 m mixed medley relay.[23]
In themen's 4 × 100 metre medley relay,he was part of the team together withAdam Peaty,Duncan ScottandLuke Greenbank.They won the final in a European record time of three minutes, 28.10 seconds, and the win is Britain's first gold medal in the event at the World Championships.[24][25]
2021: European Championships and Olympic gold
editAt theEuropean Championshipsheld in Budapest in May 2021, Guy won three gold medals as part of the British team in themen's 4 x 100 m medley,mixed 4 × 100 metre medley,andmixed 4 × 200 metre freestylerelays.[26][27][28]He also won two silvers in both themen's 4 × 100 metreand4 × 200 metre freestyle relays,[29][30]as well as an individual bronze in100m butterfly.[31]
At theTokyo Olympics,Guy swam the second leg in the final of themen's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay,and won his first Olympic gold withTom Dean,Duncan Scott,andMatt Richardsin a time of six minutes 58.58 seconds.[32]He then won a second gold, swimming the butterfly leg in themixed 4 × 100 metre medley relay,and set a world record time of 3 minutes 37.58 seconds together withKathleen Dawson,Adam Peaty,andAnna Hopkin.[33]
Guy was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire(MBE) in the2022 New Year Honoursfor services to swimming.[34][35]
2022
editAt the2022 World Aquatics Championshipsheld in Budapest, Guy won two bronzes as part of the team, inMen's 4 × 100 metre medley relayandMen's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay.[36]In 2022, he was part of the team that won the gold medal in theMen's 4 × 100 metre medley relayat the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.[37]
2024: Olympic gold
editAt the2024 Summer Olympicsheld in Paris, Guy was in the final of theMen's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relaytogether with Duncan Scott, Tom Dean, and Matt Richards, the same quartet who won in the same event at the Tokyo Olympics. They won the relay with a time of six minutes and 59.43 seconds, and became the first team to have successfully defended an Olympic swimming relay title with the same four swimmers.[38]They are also the first British team to have defended an Olympic relay title in swimming or athletics.[39]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abGoodwin, Stuart (14 August 2016)."Team GB's medley relay silver brings up best Olympic swimming haul since 1908".The Guardian.
- ^Gilmour, Rod (15 June 2016)."James Guy: 'My bo xing grandad is my inspiration'".The Daily Telegraph.
- ^abBaxter, Trevor (12 June 2014)."James gets a kick out of winning".Manchester Evening News.
- ^"Former Forest Preparatory School pupil wins silver for Team GB at Rio Olympics | Forest Preparatory School".forestschool.co.uk.Retrieved11 April2018.
- ^"British talent pool makes a splash".The Sunday Times.31 July 2016.
- ^Gilmour, Rod (20 May 2016)."Top Guy angles for Olympic swimming glory in Rio".The Daily Telegraph.
- ^"James Guy Bio".Swim Swam.
- ^"James Guy biography".
- ^"James Guy wins World Swimming 200m freestyle gold".BBC Sport.4 August 2015.Retrieved5 August2015.
- ^"James Guy wins historic freestyle gold as Adam Peaty sets breaststroke record".The Guardian.4 August 2015.Retrieved5 August2015.
- ^"World Champion James Guy and swim coach Jol Finck loving 'fresh start' at University of Bath".Team Bath.1 February 2017.Retrieved20 April2017.
- ^Hope, Nick (28 July 2017)."World Swimming Championships: Great Britain claim gold in 4x200m freestyle".BBC Sport.
- ^Hope, Nick (27 July 2017)."World Swimming Championships: Britons Ben Proud and James Guy win bronze".BBC Sport.
- ^Hope, Nick (30 July 2017)."World Swimming Championships: Adam Peaty helps GB to men's 4x100m medley silver".BBC Sport.
- ^"Commonwealth Games: Duncan Scott and Siobhan-Marie O'Connor claim swimming gold > Relay silver for England".BBC Sport.8 April 2018.
- ^"English men win relay silver to close second day on Gold Coast".Swimming.org.6 April 2018.
- ^"Commonwealth Games: Ben Proud claims gold, Caster Semenya breaks record".BBC Sport.10 April 2018.
- ^"Guy claims silver to boost medal tally".Swimming.org.9 April 2018.
- ^"England's Guy edged into 400m freestyle bronze".BBC Sport.5 April 2018.
- ^"Duncan Scott, James Guy Propel Great Britain to Men's 4×200 Free Relay Win".Swimming World.5 August 2018.
- ^"European Championships 2018: Peaty, Anderson, Guy & Davies win mixed relay gold".BBC Sport.6 August 2018.
- ^"European Championships 2018: Adam Peaty & Ben Proud win gold for GB".BBC Sport.9 August 2018.
- ^"Watch: GB clinch bronze in 4x100m medley relay".BBC Sport.24 July 2019.
- ^Field, Pippa (28 July 2019)."Adam Peaty: Winning relay world title with Great Britain 'better than Olympic gold'".The Telegraph.
- ^Byrnes, Liz (28 July 2019)."Scott Splits 46.14 To Overhaul Adrian As Great Britain Take Gold in 4×100 Medley Relay: Russia Third".Swimming World.
- ^"European Swimming Championships: GB win silver in men's 4x200m freestyle".BBC News.19 May 2021.
- ^"Adam Peaty shines as GB keep up perfect mixed medley relay record at European Swimming Championships".Eurosport.20 May 2021.
- ^Hope, Nick (23 May 2021)."European Aquatics Championships: Adam Peaty helps Britain win men's 4x100m medley gold".BBC Sport.
- ^"European Swimming Championships: Great Britain win silver in men's 4x100m freestyle".BBC Sport.17 May 2021.
- ^"Great Britain on the podium again with men's relay silver".Swimming.org.19 May 2021.
- ^"2021 European Championships: Day 7 Finals Live Recap".SwimSwam.23 May 2021.
- ^"Toyko 2020: Bury swimmer James Guy wins Olympic gold with GB relay team".
- ^"Tokyo Olympics: Great Britain win 4x100m mixed medley relay gold".BBC Sports.31 July 2021.
- ^"No. 63571".The London Gazette(Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N20.
- ^"New Year Honours 2022: Jason Kenny receives a knighthood and Laura Kenny made a dame".BBC Sport.31 December 2021.
- ^"Men's medley relay end World Champs with Budapest bronze".British Swimming.25 June 2022.
- ^"Jacob Peters".Team England.Retrieved20 April2023.
- ^Charlesworth, David (30 July 2024)."Great Britain quartet retain 4x200m relay title to give GB first Paris pool gold".The Independent.
- ^Henry, Matthew (30 July 2024)."GB retain relay title to win first swimming gold".BBC.
External links
edit
- James GuyatBritish Swimming
- James GuyatWorld Aquatics
- James Guyat SwimRankings.net
- James Guyat theInternational Swimming League
- James GuyatOlympics
- James GuyatTeam GB
- James Guyat theGold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games(archived)
- James Guyat theBirmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
- James GuyatTeam England
