CREST OF A WAVE
Scott strikes gold again as Tollcross crowd hail real hero
Block out the hysterical noise for a moment, ignore all the excitement, and it is clear in sport — goodness, in life — that the simple things can make all the difference. Take Duncan Scott, for example. At a packed Tollcross yesterday evening. There he was, the poster boy of Scottish swimming, in lane eight at the start of the men’s 200metre freestyle final.
No expectation? No problem. After qualifying by the skin of his teeth — eighth fastest — in the semi-finals, the 21-year-old knew he did not need to complicate matters.
These European championships had been a success before he stepped out in front of the Glasgow crowd. A gold medal in the 4x200m men’s freestyle relay and silver in the 100m freestyle helped him realise what Scots make of him.
But this? Seriously? What a noise, what a race, what a phenomenal young athlete this man is. Tollcross exploded in sheer jubilation as he struck gold in one minute, 45.34 seconds. It very much felt like the defining moment of these championships for Scots.
Such is his composure, he smiled as he tried to take it all in when presented with his gold medal, with an ecstatic crowd still in attendance.
The Stirling University swimmer was third after 50m but burst into contention to be second with the final length to go. Team GB members jumped at the side of the pool. Scotland had waited for a real signature victory and it was delivered by sensational Scott.
‘I am delighted,’ he said. ‘I was swimming my own race out there in lane eight. I didn’t really know what was going on with the rest of the field, but I had a sneaky look at the last turn.
‘I don’t know exactly how the race panned out, or where other people were. I was just hacking away in the last 25m and thankfully I got there. It was pretty relaxing being out there. The crowd has been amazing all week and I just decided to take my headphones off and listen to them.
‘I went in with no expectations and just had to execute my own race. I had a lot to do between the semi-final and the final. I had a lot to change, but I am delighted I managed to correct a few things. I went out a bit faster, unless everyone went out a lot slower. I knew I had a performance like that in me.’
of course, we’ve seen what Scott can do before. In April in Gold coast, he became Scotland’s most-decorated athlete at a single commonwealth Games with six medals.
Many obstacles await him between now and the 2020 olympic Games in Tokyo, but it will take a lot to mute the excitement that he could be a champion again on the biggest stage.
Scott, however, is remaining calm. ‘A lot changes in two years,’ he said. ‘There are a lot of olympic medallists we have never heard of who will pop out in Tokyo.’
Britain’s James Guy just missed out on bronze, but the headlines were reserved for Scott.
However, for fellow Stirling swimmer Ross Murdoch, these have been championships clouded in disappointment. After becoming a victim of the rules in the 100m breaststroke, missing out on the final as the ‘third’ Brit, and his fourth-place finish in the 200m breaststroke, he failed to qualify for today’s 50m final. He was sixth in the second semi, with champion Adam Peaty winning with a new record of 26.23secs.
‘This was a bonus event for me,’ said Murdoch. ‘It was good to make it out of the heats and get out there and enjoy the crowd one more time.’
Elsewhere in the pool yesterday, Britain’s Ben Proud won silver in the men’s 50m butterfly final, pipped by world record holder Andriy Govorov of Ukraine. Georgia Davies added to the two golds she has won at these championships by clinching silver in the 100m backstroke final behind Russia’s Anastasia Fesikova.
Britain won gold in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay, while in the women’s 200m breaststroke final, Molly Renshaw took bronze.
But there was disappointment in the heats for Scotland’s Hannah Miley, as she missed out on a place in the 200m individual medley semi-finals.