Olympic gold hopeful Matt Richards' journey to Olympic stardom began on a family holiday to Tenerife, of all places.

The tale begins when a five-year-old Richards, disregarding his armbands, leapt into the deep end of a hotel pool.

"My parents both had a heart attack", Richards jests.

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"My Dad (Simon) ran in and jumped in after me, but I was fine and I loved it.

"That was where I found I had a real love for the water."

Upon returning home, his parents ushered him into swimming lessons at Droitwich Leisure Centre, kickstarting a lifelong passion.

Today Richards, an Olympic, World and European gold medalist, is set to be one of the main attractions of Team GB's efforts in the pool at Paris 2024.

His dedication to the pool remains inherent, influenced by an ingrained love for the water and pushing his boundaries.

Richards said: "Fundamentally, I’m just really excited to race.

"That’s what drives me and pushes me every day.

"The outcomes that come with that can be special, incredible moments but the reason why I do what I do is because I love it."

Born in Droitwich and currently based near Bath, Richards flies the flag of the Welsh dragon, owing to his Cardiff-born father.

Being able to represent Wales nurtures a sense of rooted pride, stemming from his childhood years when he dreamt of representing the land of his father's.

Dad Simon, a police officer who was stationed at the Olympic sites in Stratford during London 2012, has been an integral part of his son's sporting journey, despite Richards not being able to watch the games in person.

While he struck Olympic gold in the 4x200 metre at his maiden Olympics in Tokyo three years ago, the 21-year-old has faced his fair share of trials, hitting a low after slipping to 30th place at the World Championships a year later in Budapest, Hungary.

Richards had to reinvent himself and reevaluate his method of training.

The decision to switch to Ryan Livingstone's training base at Millfield School was a game-changer.

Richards, who once fell out of love with the sport, rekindled his passion and rose to be crowned a world champion in the 200 metre freestyle in Fukuoka last year.

Since then he has hit qualifying standards in six events for the games, and could race 15 times in the space of nine days in pursuit of more Olympic gold.

Richards took some scalps along the way too, beating countryman and reigning Olympic champion Tom Dean in the 200 metre freestyle, preventing him from defending his title in Paris in the process.

Heading to France with the title of the world's fastest man over 200 metres, it is safe to say the young man has some weight on his shoulders.

He concluded: "People are always going to have expectations but I know I’m in a good place physically and mentally, and I can go and do some amazing things."