Mclay puts focus on the positives after relay outing

Scott Mclay insisted he will take huge positives from his lone outing at his debut world championships after anchoring the British 4x100 freestyle team to fifth place on the opening day of action in Gwangju.

Despite qualifying second fastest, the 20-yearold – along with Stirling team-mate Duncan Scott, plus Ben Proud and James Guy – had to settle for a UK record of 3:11.81 – and qualification for Tokyo 2020 – as the USA struck gold.

“We were coming in here hoping to be top 12 and qualify for the Olympics next year,” said Mclay, who repaid the selectors faith in taking him to South Korea to gain experience.

“Our team did absolutely incredibly. I’m really happy with the job but it’s great to be a part of this. I was going to leave absolutely everything in the water. The last ten metres I was dead and I was holding on.”

Having passed on entering this event in the past, it sets the British squad up nicely for an Olympic medal tilt in 12 months’ time. But Scott added: “A lot can change in a year for the better and the worse. We have to look at that and see what we can go better. It might not be the same team next year.”

Adam Peaty set himself up for a hat-trick of 100m breaststroke titles after satisfying one of his main ambitions by becoming the first man to swim under 57 seconds in the semis. The 24-year-old from Derbyshire slashed his own world record to 56.88 but he claimed it will mean little without adding gold today.

“I’ve come here to win a world title,” said Peaty, who will be joined by James Wilby in the final. “That’s still my main focus, so this was just a bonus and I’ll use this energy.”