“He’s got one of the best-ever freestyle techniques and I'm able to train with him day in, day out”
Scott Mclay is hoping he and training partner Duncan Scott can marshal an aquatic Tartan Army at the Tokyo Olympics and bring a chestful of medals back to their Stirling base.
With exactly 100 days to go until the games begin, the UK’S swimmers will be fighting for seats on the plane to Japan in July when the British trials begin in London this morning.
Scott, a double silver medallist in the pool at Rio 2016, is one of just four contenders already pre-selected. His 21-year-old training partner Mclay is among the group needing to impress selectors with quick times and strong placings over the next five days. However Mclay believes working alongside the Alloa’s ace will give him an edge.
Mclay said: “It is very good obviously, being able to train with him, seeing how he's able to swim because he's one of the fastest non-textile suit swimmers ever with the 46.1 mark he did in the 4x100 relay he did in Gwangju at the 2019 world championships.
“He’s got one of the best-ever freestyle techniques and I'm able to train with him day in and day out to pick up on anything. Same with having Steven Tigg as my coach and his as well. So I'm getting all the same pointers and I’m heading in the right direction.”
The first day of the trials sees Scott start as the clear favourite in the 200 metres individual medley, while fellow Scots Ross Murdoch and Craig Benson face the huge challenge of defending Olympic champion Adam Peaty and world silver medallist James Wilby in the 100m breaststroke.
Hannah Miley returns from shoulder surgery in a bid to make a fourth Olympics in the 400m individual medley, the event where she came an agonising fourth in Rio. And Lucy Hope will look for the swim of her life against Tokyo medal prospect Freya Anderson in the 200m freestyle.
Yet the Games that awaits the best of British will be very different to the fabulous festival of sport that was envisaged before Covid struck. No foreign fans. Strict protocols that will see athletes enter and depart the village as speedily as possible with secure bubbles in place that will render the traditional work-andthen-play atmosphere out of bounds. Another Scot, Ross Murdoch, will have a major role in the battle for breast2019 stroke berths at the games, his Glasgow-born English rival James Wilby has forecast.
The duel for just two available spots in the 100 m will take centre stage in London today.
Five years ago in Rio, Adam Peaty struck a brilliant gold in a world record of 57.13 seconds with Murdoch deflated following his semi-final exit.
Since then Wilby has elbowed his way past the Scot in the pecking order by capturing silver behind Peaty at the world championships.
But Wilby said: “Ross is a great breaststroker. The funny thing about my progression on to the international stage is that Britain has always been very much stacked with breaststrokers, all the way back to 2012 with Michael Jamieson and Andrew Willis in the Olympics, all the way through to when I was first trying to push at the national meets and possibly making teams in 2014.