Exhausted Scott happy to have ‘learned a lot’ in Glasgow as he prepares for Olympics

A punishing schedule of 13 swims in five days at the European short-course championships left Duncan Scott visibly fatigued last night as the showpiece in Glasgow reached its conclusion. “Exhaustion is a mindset,” he grinned, following a week when the 22-yearold won two silvers among a British haul of 11 medals.

His exhausting gambit concluded with eighth place in the 100m individual medley and fifth in the 100m freestyle in a Scottish record of 46.58 seconds. The real returns were measured in the raw data and analysis that will feed into his approach to the Tokyo Olympics and its morning finales.

“I’ve learned a lot and I got a lot out of it,” said Scott. “It was a meeting where I really challenged myself in a lot of events and went back to back and raced hard in the morning. That’s been really good and I’ve surprised myself with some of the swims I’ve done in the morning.”

His only real regret came from GB’S surprise elimination in yesterday’s heats of the 4x50m medley when a medal seemed realistic. “They had a good couple of legs and I didn’t perform to the standard of the rest of the week,” he added. “That’s probably the biggest disappointment.”

Golden in both the 4x50m relay and the 100m freestyle, Vladimir Morozov topped the individual stakes with seven golds as Russia headed the medal table. Freya Anderson was unable to elevate her title tally beyond two as the 18-yearold was held into fourth in the women’s 400m freestyle. Still, it has been a breakthrough event for the English prodigy who will compete at next weekend’s Scottish Championships in Edinburgh. “It’s been a crazy week,” she said. “I didn’t come into this expecting that.”

Molly Renshaw claimed silver in the 200m breaststroke after being usurped by Italy’s Simona Quadarella on the final length. “Every time I race, I’m gaining experience and more confidence,” she affirmed.

There was a bronze in the 200m butterfly for former world champion James Guy as Greece’s Andreas Vazaios earned a second gold in Glasgow. “It was a personal best which is good,” Guy declared. “I was pretty tired and I had to grind it out. But I feel my endurance and speed is right up there.”