Team GB’s gold medal swimmers Tom Dean and Matt Richards can’t stop smirking as BBC host Clare Balding innocently tells them ‘your third leg was just PHENOMENAL’
Clare Balding made headlines at the Tokyo Olympics for an unintentional gaffe when interviewing Team GB’s gold medal winners Tom Dean and Matt Richards.
The BBC presenter was speaking to the swimming duo after their success in the men’s 4x200m freestyle final on Wednesday.
And Balding almost had the pair in stitches after innocently telling Richards ‘your third leg was just phenomenal’.
Dean and Richards held back their laughter but could not stop smirking after the hilarious faux pas.
Richards chuckled following the use of the slang word for male genitalia, before replying: ‘Yeah I mean I haven’t actually had a chance to watch it back yet. I’ve tried to find it. To be honest I’m having some trouble finding the video of the race.’
The clip from the BBC’s Olympics highlights show surfaced on social media with one user writing: ‘RFL President @clarebalding with an unintentional highlight of the Olympics, whilst interviewing 18-year-old gold medal winning swimmer Matt Richards.’
Clare Balding (left) made headlines at the Tokyo Olympics for an unintentional gaffe
BBC host Balding innocently told Matt Richards (R) ‘your third leg was just phenomenal’
Twitter users replied with multiple crying face emojis following the accidental innuendo
Balding’s accidental innuendo saw her trending on Twitter and several users replied with multiple crying face emojis, while one wrote: ‘Their smirks are hilarious.’
Another replied to the video, saying: ‘Wish I could hear the laughs afterwards, the teasing and jokes…’
While one Twitter user quipped: ‘I’d like to see his third leg!!!’
Dean, 21, became the first British man since 1908 to win two swimming golds at the same Olympics.
Dean and Duncan Scott, who also won individual silver, were joined by James Guy and Richards, 18, in relay gold on Wednesday.
The quartet finished a mammoth 3.23sec ahead of the Russian Olympic Committee, with Australia in third.
It was Great Britain’s third swimming gold of these glorious Games, their best tally since 1908.
Richards would not have been part of the team had the Games gone ahead as planned last year.
Individual 200m freestyle gold and silver winners Tom Dean (second right) and Duncan Scott (second left) won 4x200m freestyle final alongside James Guy (R) and Matthew Richards (L)
Dean, Guy (right) and Richards (centre) celebrate the moment of glory at the Tokyo Olympics
He only made his senior international debut at the European Championships in May and Wednesday’s event was just the second time Richards had been part of the 4x200m relay team.
Richards took over after Dean and Guy and produced a fantastic performance to increase Britain’s lead from 0.13sec, when he dived in, to 1.45sec by the time he passed over to Scott.
‘Forever now, this will be something that I can say I was part of and it will be something I can tell my kids and hopefully my grandkids about one day,’ Richards said.
‘Going in after the current Olympic champion and a former world champion, and knowing the guy going in behind me won a silver medal in that event yesterday, the confidence that gives you is just incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever been so proud to have been part of a team.
‘I’ve got some big goals, I’ve got a lot of things that I want to achieve in my swimming career and as far as I’m concerned this is just the very beginning.’