Back in 2015, in the build up to the world championships of that year, Chris Spice spoke of how he wanted GB to become a force in the relay events. Well fast forward six years and that has certainly been the case. Now it’s time to dive into the women’s chances and also consider the mixed medley relay, an event making its Olympic debut in Tokyo.

The relay events often deliver some of the most exciting racing at any major championships, and in recent years have produced some memorable moments for Great Britain. Who can forget for example Duncan Scott’s anchor leg heroics in Gwangju or the drama surrounding the women’s 4×200 relay in Fukuoka back in 2001? Certainly for the men’s squad, recent years have seen the relays become a fertile hunting ground for medals, so let’s dig into the team hopes on the men’s side

There was a period from 2008 to around 2013 where Britain relied heavily on its women to bring home the medals from global championships and try as they might, the men just couldn’t get a look in. By the time of Rio that had evened out, with the teams each bringing home 3 medals from the 2016 Olympics. Since then however it’s been all about the men, with the women’s team not able to secure a medal at either the 2017 or 2019 world championships. The good news, though, is that the barren run looks likely to end in Tokyo.

At the conclusion of the British Olympic Trials we were left with a whole host of world class performances that catapulted GB swimmers to the vanguard of the world rankings. The subsequent performances at the European Championships did little to dampen hopes of a bumper Olympic medal haul. In this, the first of a three part series, we consider the chances in the men’s individual events.