James guy is gonna close. Great Britain has another gold at these Worlds.
So James Guy of Great Britain with yet another gold medal winning performance at the Worlds.
Hey guys welcome to this week's video from Propulsion Swimming. This week I'm back
with another blackboard breakdown for you all. This is where we look at a world-class swimmer
and discuss who they are, what achievements they've had throughout their swimming careers,
and what makes them so good. So for this week's video we are looking at four-time World
Championship gold medallist and British Swimming superstar, James Guy. James Guy, who is 6'2,
was born on the 26th November 1995 and specializes in middle distance freestyle and butterfly events.
His talent in the pool was noticeable from a very early stage of his swimming career and at
the age of 13, he gained a swimming scholarship to Millfield in Somerset. Millfield is known as
one of the best sporting schools in the country, they've produced sports star, after sports star,
after sports star. His first notable result came at the Antwerp Junior World Championships in 2012,
where he won bronze in the 400m freestyle in a time of 3.51.84. The following year was certainly
James Guy's breakthrough year. At the 2013 World Junior Championships, he won three medals,
two individual silvers in the 200 and 400m freestyle and a gold in the 4x200m freestyle
relay. His year continued to get even better as he was selected for his senior international debut at
the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona. Guy swam in two events, the 400m freestyle, where he
lowered his own 17 year old age group British record in finishing 5th place, and the 4x200m
freestyle relay where he set another British age group record as the lead-off swimmer,
with the British team placing in 7th overall. In 2014, Guy was becoming a real podium threat at
major international meets. He then went on to represent England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games,
where along with winning two relay medals, he yet again lowered that 400m freestyle British record
while claiming bronze. Now, the following year, 2015, was where James Guy's career skyrocketed.
At the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Great British Swimming had its most successful World
Championships since 2003, and guy was a leading force in this. He won silver in the 400m freestyle
in a time of 3.43.75, which was a British record and still stands to this day. But he wasn't done
here, he went one better in the 200m freestyle and claimed a massive gold medal. In the race he
turned third with 50m to go and then produced one of the best finishes to a 200m freestyle
we have ever seen; upsetting all the odds and storming home to win gold in a time of 1.45.14.
But he didn't stop there. He was the anchor leg for the men's 4x200m freestyle relay. He
dived into the pool in third place behind leaders America and Russia and despite them having over
a second head start on him, he brought home the British team to another massive gold medal. Going
into the Olympics the following year, James Guy was confident he could replicate those incredible
performances from the years before. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he won two relay silver medals as
part of the 4x200m freestyle team and the 4x100m medley team. With high hopes going into his
individual freestyle events, he finished 4th in the 200m freestyle and 6th in the 400m freestyle.
Not quite hitting the same heights as the previous year's World Championships but nevertheless, still
two very respectable performances. At the 2017 World Championships, British Swimming continued
their fine form in relays. Guy became World Champion again in the 4x200m freestyle relay and
the 4x100m medley relay. In his individual events, Guy finished 5th in the 200m freestyle in a time
of 1.45.36, and he tied for bronze in the 100m butterfly with Joseph Schooling. In the following
few years of competition, James Guy cemented himself as one of the greatest relay swimmers
the UK has ever seen. He won three relay silvers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, along with an
individual silver and bronze. He won three relay golds at the 2018 European Championships as well
as an individual silver in the 100m butterfly. And at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju,
he won another relay gold as part of the 4x100m medley relay team and a silver as part of the
mixed relay team. So what makes James Guy so good and how will he do in Tokyo? The first reason
is his aerobic capacity. His fitness levels are absolutely incredible hence the reason he's able
to race the 400m freestyle and 200m butterfly at a world-class standard. Even when he's beginning
to fatigue, he is able to hold his technique strong and he drives himself all the way to
the end of the race. A great example of this was in the 200m butterfly at the British Trials. He
took out the first 100m like an absolute lunatic and really paid for it in the last 10 meters,
but his technique held true and he set a massive new lifetime best to qualify for the Olympics
in that event. Another reason he's so good in the pool is his will to win. He is a fierce competitor
he loves to race, especially head to heads in relays. It clearly explains why he's able
to keep up with the likes of Michael Phelps and Caeleb Dressel when it comes to the butterfly leg
of the medley relay. The last reason, which is closely associated to his will to win, is the fact
that he is the ultimate team player. Some of his best ever races have come in relays. It seems like
when he's racing for others as well as himself, he produces some of his best performances.
He has been a major part of multiple relay teams for British Swimming over recent years
and we'd argue he's a major reason for their success. James Guy potentially has many years left
in swimming yet and has multiple chances to add to an already impressive medal collection in Tokyo.
We think he could add two, three, maybe even four medals, and being huge fans of British Swimming we
cannot wait! That rounds up this week's video from Propulsion Swimming,
I hope you've enjoyed it. If you have, please like this video, share it with your friends and family,
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that would really help us out. Until next time, I'll catch you on the next one!