LIFE CHOICE

This time of year may be about indulgence for some but for others it is about resolutions.

For Duncan Scott it is a time to look ahead. A Commonwealth Games year, the pressure is on Team Scotland athletes to bring back medals and better the previous best from an overseas Games.

That was in Melbourne, in 2006, when the swimmers set the tone for the rest of the Games, bursting out of the blocks and reaping rewards. They did the same in the home Games in 2014, meaning expectations are high.

In April, the Commonwealth team return to Australia, to the Gold Coast with the hopes of living up to them.

“What I do know is that, in 2014, we started really strong. We had Ross Murdoch and Michael Jamieson in the 200 breaststroke. Then we had Hannah Miley. What a start that is there,” said the freestyle specialist. “I got goosebumps there just saying that. Absolutely

“Once you get to the level of international swimming, it just becomes habit. It’s not really a sacrifice. It’s what you do. You push away your friends”

DUNCAN SCOTT