James Guy: my grandma spurred me on to claim medal

James Guy overtook Japan’s Takeshi Matsuda in the final length to secure second
Getty
David Churchill10 August 2016

James Guy today revealed that a phone call from his grandmother hours before his 4x200m freestyle relay final spurred him on to clinch silver.

As the fourth and final swimmer of the Team GB relay team, Guy, 20, was in third place, but overtook Japan’s Takeshi Matsuda in the final length to secure second behind the US.

He said he had told his grandmother he was annoyed at missing out on a medal by 0.26 seconds in the 200m freestyle the night before.

He said: “I was pretty upset because I wanted to get a medal in the 200m, but she said, ‘Just enjoy it, granddad would be proud of you, you’ve been blessed. Just enjoy it and it’s only going to get better.’

"She’s very mystical, my grandma, she’s always right and passionate and she was right this time. Of course she spurred me on.”

Guy, from Bury, who swam the quickest 200m of the Team GB team, said it was “special” to have his parents watching in the crowd.

He said: “It was surreal standing on that podium. It’s been a dream of mine to get an Olympic medal since a young boy. After this, I’ll have a good few weeks off.”

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