Duncan Scott became the first British athlete to win four medals at a single Olympics as Team GB celebrated their best swimming haul at a Games.

Luke Greenbank, Adam Peaty, James Guy and Scott took silver in the men’s 4×100 metres medley relay final, finishing 0.73 seconds behind the United States, who claimed gold in a world record time of three minutes and 26.78 seconds.

Britain’s eighth medal – with four golds, three silvers and a bronze – in the final swimming event in the Japanese capital bettered their previous best tally in the pool of seven gongs, set at the London Games 113 years ago.

Scott has won gold in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay and silver in the solo event as well as finishing runner-up in the 200m individual medley, and it was another second spot on the podium on Sunday.

 

Greenbank, the 200m backstroke bronze medallist, was seventh after the opening leg, but Peaty, eyeing his third gold of these Olympics, swam a remarkable breaststroke split of 56.53s to take them into the lead.

Guy, also chasing a hat-trick of gold medals this week, swam his butterfly leg in a creditable 50.27s but was overtaken by the vaunted Caeleb Dressel, with American compatriot Zach Apple completing the job.

Victory for the USA was a second win on Sunday for Dressel after prevailing in the 50m freestyle earlier, capping a sensational Games for the 24-year-old, who has collected five golds in Japan and now has seven overall.

The USA-Britain one-two matched the result from the Rio 2016 Games.

Scott said: “It’s all my teammates, that’s what that is. I’m fortunate to be part of some excellent relay teams, this being one of them. We’re all pretty disappointed with this, but in 2015, when we started coming together, back-to-back Olympic silvers in this event, we’d have taken that all day.

“We’re coming in here to really challenge the Americans just like we did last time at worlds. With our splits, we all swam well, slightly disappointed with mine but that’s how it is. It’s been a tough week, but we’ve got to be happy with that.”

Peaty added: “Unfortunately we didn’t do enough to take that gold, but with the success British Swimming have had and we have had, sometimes you need a little bit of pain.

“This is painful, and I know people at home will say we got Olympic silver, but that’s the standard we are at now. We’re not looking at bronze or silver, we’re looking at how to get gold.

“That’s just my mindset, and I know these guys are disappointed as well, that’s just the honest opinion of our performance and what we thought we could do. But that’s a world record for them, you can’t ask for more, and it’s my fifth medal at two Olympics.”

In the history books

A number of British Olympians have won a hat-trick of gongs at one Games this century and, here, the PA news agency looks at those the 24-year-old has leapfrogged with his feat at Tokyo 2020.

Adam Peaty and James Guy – Tokyo 2020

Peaty and Guy technically have not been overtaken in the list as they won their third medals at the same time as Scott made history in the men’s 4x100m medley relay. It has been quite the Games for Peaty. He retained his 100m breaststroke title in style and was part of the group that set a new world record in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final. Guy was a winner in the relay events of the men’s 4x200m freestyle and mixed 4x100m medley.

Max Whitlock – Rio 2016

Armed with two bronzes from London 2012, he claimed a third at the outset in Brazil in the men’s all-round gymnastics event, Britain’s first medal in this discipline for 108 years. Later on in the Games, the then 24-year-old from Hertfordshire made further history by topping the podium in the individual floor exercise, the first time his nation had won Olympic gymnastics gold. Britain did not have to wait much longer for a second one as within two hours Whitlock triumphed in the pommel horse, edging out team-mate Louis Smith.

Jason Kenny – Rio 2016

The publicity-shy Kenny was already a three-time Olympic champion, with a silver to boot, when he stepped off the plane in South America in an attempt to add to his legacy. Alongside Philip Hindes and Callum Skinner, the Manchester cyclist, then 29, claimed victory in the men’s team sprint. Kenny then overcame Skinner in the final of the individual sprint before more success in the Keirin, his sixth Olympic gold, joining Sir Chris Hoy as the joint most successful competitors among Britons at a Games.

Chris Hoy – Beijing 2008

Hoy emulated Henry Taylor’s 1908 feat of winning three golds at an individual Games and at the same time became Scotland’s most successful Olympian. Cycling alongside Kenny and Jamie Staff, the Edinburgh rider eased to gold in the men’s team sprint before defeating Team GB stablemate Ross Edgar in the Keirin. Another compatriot stood in his way in the shape of Kenny in the individual sprint but Hoy ultimately prevailed. He added another two golds at London 2012 before retiring from competitive cycling the following year.

Bradley Wiggins – Athens 2004

Much like many of those before him, the record of winning a trio of medals is hardly the most standout achievement of his career. Eight years before he won the Tour de France, Wiggins claimed gold in the men’s individual pursuit, silver in the team pursuit along with Steve Cummings, Rob Hayles and Paul Manning, and bronze in the Madison with Hayles. He won two track cycling golds at Beijing four years later before switching his attentions to the road at London 2012, where he was the winner of the time trial. Wiggins was back in the velodrome at Rio five years ago and added a final gold to become the Briton with the most Olympic medals, with seven.