The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Lockdown won’t stop Scott, insists Foster
SWIMMING: Former world champion tips Scot to win Olympic gold at Tokyo 2021
Former world champion Mark Foster insists the coronavirus shutdown won’t block Duncan Scott’s path to an Olympic swimming title.
The one-time owner of eight world records, who turned 50 during lockdown, claimed a string of major medals over 50 metres in the freestyle and butterfly but came up short of an Olympic gong during five appearances.
Yet although Scott has been kicking his heels since early April, the European and Commonwealth champion is still primed for global domination at Tokyo’s Games in 2021, Foster claims.
He said: “You looked at Duncan at the end of last season and he was just right on the cusp of making that next step.
“Everything was coming together and I think he would have won the 200 metres freestyle if the Olympics had been held this summer.
“Now, he still might next year. You see that trajectory that he’s been on, getting quicker and quicker. I see the same with Freya Anderson. She’s only 18 but she’s just on that kind of path.
“The thing with Duncan is he’s quite slight compared to most of his rivals. Sometimes, that makes you think they’re stronger. But it’s not the case with him. He’s really strong. And I’m sure he’ll come out of this ready to pick up where he left off.”
Foster also confirmed 13 swimming clubs in Scotland have been handed grants from the Swimathon
Foundation’s Covid-19 relief fund to help them stay alive during what could be a prolonged shuttering.
And even with no firm timetable to reopen pools north of the border, the contingent of Scottish elite swimmers must stay prepared for when the restart comes, Foster maintains.
“It’s hard when you’ve not been in a pool, you’ve not been around your teammates or your coach, and been a few weeks away from the trials and then see it all called off.
“Motivation is tough. You’ve a few swimmers like Adam Peaty who have been lucky enough to get pools in their back garden courtesy of sponsors. For everyone else, it will be about easing back in. Everyone around the world is mainly in the same boat.
“Psychologically, though, how much you’ve kept focused could be the difference. A lot of people only see the Olympics. They don’t see the hard work in the other four years. But that’s the bedrock.”
The Swimathon Foundation has awarded £50,000 in relief fund grants to more than 100 small swimming and aquatics organisations in the UK who have been impacted by the effects of coronavirus. For more information about the Swimathon Foundation, visit swimathonfoundation.org