GREAT SCOTT Dunc nabs gold
DUNCAN SCOTT took revenge on Tom Dean for his Olympic heartbreak by taking gold in the Duel in the Pool.
The Scot had lost out to the Englishman in the final of the 200m freestyle in Tokyo by an agonising 0.04 seconds.
But on a raucous evening in the West Midlands he got his own back by coming from behind to this time beat his close friend into second place.
Ben Proud had got England off to a flying start as he took gold in the 50m butterfly in a Games record 22.81secs.
And superstar Adam Peaty qualified fastest for today’s 100m breaststroke final just 10 weeks after breaking his foot.
But the race they packed the Sandwell Aquatics Centre to see was the “blue riband” 200m and it was Scott who edged a thriller.
This was a clash which injected genuine quality into a Games struggling a little for credibility after a number of early gaffes.
It is not a good look when a “bronze medal race” is won at the velodrome and the winners are told there is no medal – then get fined for borrowing a couple for a podium photo.
Nor when the leader of the men’s marathon gets lost after going the wrong way in
Birmingham city centre and has to retrace his footsteps.
Dean, who last summer became the first British male since 1908 to win two gold medals at a single Olympics, got out fastest, leading to the halfway mark.
But Scott, who missed the recent world championships due to a particularly heavy bout of Covid, somehow found the strength to overhaul him in the final 60m.
Thrilling though that was it was Proud’s “redemption” win which brought the house down.
After he was disqualified four years ago, he said: “This is my redemption.
“I don’t want to be emotional but it has been tough.”
Imogen Clark almost emulated his feat in the very next race, producing the swim of her life to take silver in the 50m breaststroke.