The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Swimmer Duncan Scott shows off his second gold medal of the European Championships after winning the 200m in Glasgow yesterday.
Scot storms to stunning victory in 200m to mark himself down as Olympic contender for Tokyo
Two years out from Tokyo 2020 and Duncan Scott insists there are Olympic contenders who are still unknown.
But one thing for sure is his name will be on everyone’s lips after a storming gold last night at the European Swimming Championships.
The Glasgow swimmer went from slowest to fastest in the men’s 200m final after he sneaked in as the slowest qualifier.
But that did not stop him picking up a third medal, and second gold, of the meet at Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow.
“I had to swim my own race out there from lane eight and it was great,” said the former Starthallan School pupil.
“I had a sneaky look on the last turn but I did not know what everyone else was doing so it was tough in that sense.
“I am really happy, I am delighted. I do not know how the race panned out at all and I was just hacking away down that last 75 metres and hoping. I executed it well.”
Scott took silver in the 100m freestyle and was part of the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team that stormed to gold on Monday night. And, two years away from Tokyo, he admits he is in a very good place.
“There are a lot of Olympic champions you have not even heard of yet so a lot changes in a couple of years,” he added.
“I think that time there would have put me fourth or fifth in Rio but then there will be some fast times to come next year.”
Elsewhere, Edinburgh’s Kat Greenslade completed a perfect night for Scottish swimming as she took gold in the women’s 4x200m relay.
The 20-year-old swam the second leg, as she, Ellie Faulkner, Holly Hibbott and Freya Anderson conquered Europe in front of a raucous crowd.
That is Greenslade’s first ever senior international gold medal and she was certainly made to sweat, with 17-year-old Anderson locked in an intense battle with Russia’s Anastasia Guzhenkova down the last 50m.
But Anderson saw it through and Greenslade admits it was the perfect night in front of her home fans.
“It was amazing to do that in front of a home crowd. It was just so loud and you could hear everyone cheering, I’m just so glad we brought it home and it feels amazing,” she said.
“Winning gold just means the absolute world to us. It’s just an amazing feeling. To see the women’s 4x200 come through like this is really great.”
Ross Murdoch just missed out on a place in the men’s 50m breaststroke final after he finished sixth in his semi, with world champion Adam Peaty the favourite to win his third gold of the meet.