DUNCAN SCOTT relinquished a title but gained a legacy last night. Any disappointment at failing to retain the 100m freestyle gold he claimed on Gold Coast four years ago would surely have been tempered by the 25 year-old moving into Scottish Commonwealth Games folklore.
The bronze claimed behind Kyle Chalmers and Tom Dean over two lengths of the Sandwell Aquatics Centre pool was Scott’s third of these Birmingham Games and his 10th overall, drawing him level with shooter Alister Allan as the joint-most decorated Scottish athlete of all time.
Two hours later and the swimmer held the record all on his own, anchoring Scotland’s 4x200m freestyle team to a bronze medal in the final event of the evening, his 11th in total from three Games appearances.
There was plenty for Scott to do after Stephen Milne, Evan Jones, Mark Szaranek had completed the first 600m but he showed no sign of tiredness as he overhauled Wales to almost single-handedly drag Scotland to third place behind Australia and England.
“We thought several weeks or months ago that we had an opportunity and that’s five 4x200m in a row medalling for us,” said Scott. “That’s a big achievement for Scotland. We stepped up over all four legs with a good quartet and managed to sneak a bronze. I’m buzzing with that.”
Scott could stretch his lead at the top of the Scotland medal chart even further before these Games conclude, with the 4x100m medley relay and the 200m individual medley, potentially, still to come for him.
He and Dean have become inseparable in and out of the pool in recent years. The Scot had bested his English rival – and good friend – to take the gold in the 200m freestyle a few days earlier but trailed him here over 100m earlier in the evening, with the Australian Chalmers winning, Dean taking second and Scott adding bronze with a time of 48.27.
When he comes to reflect on it all, the Scot will probably feel disappointed as befits his perfectionist nature but the grin on his face as he congratulated the others and took to the podium to receive his medal didn’t give the impression of a man too broken-hearted at not winning.
“It was a tough day yesterday for me, physically and emotionally just missing out on a medal,” he said. “So I’m happy to be in there. For Kyle and Deano to beat me, it is what it is. They both swam pretty quick and those two are world-class athletes. So I was happy with that swim.”
Of the camaraderie evident among rivals, Scott explained: “It comes down to the fact that you can’t influence the person next to you. You’re in your own lane doing your own thing.
“You can’t really do much [to affect others]. We know how hard everyone trains, 10 plus sessions a week, 24 plus hours a week in the gym or with swimming combined. We all know how much we all want it.”
One Scottish bronze was soon followed by another. Into the water immediately after Scott’s race came Katie Shanahan who finished strongly to claim Scotland’s first ever Games medal in the women’s 200m backstroke with a lifetime best time.
The Glasgow teenager had already surpassed all expectations by claiming bronze in the 400m individual medley earlier in the Games and here she was doubling her medal tally in a final featuring two other Scots, Holly McGill who finished fifth and Cassie Wild seventh.
“I always have a strong last 50m so I just knew that I had to dig in deep as it’s my last individual race,” said Shanahan. “I really wanted that bronze and I’m just so happy that I got it. There were three Scots in the final and we’ve also not got Kat Dawson or we would have four. Hopefully I can be that next up-and-coming 200m backstroker for Great Britain.”
There would be no medal for Scott Gibson in the 50m backstroke final, the Edinburgh University sprinter having to settle for sixth place in a race won by New Zealand’s Andrew Jeffcoat.
Ross Murdoch will have a shot at more silverware this evening in the 50m breaststroke after another confident swim in the semi-final. The 28 year-old, who bagged a bronze in the 200m breaststroke earlier in the week, will try to claim another place on the podium, with team-mate Craig Benson also making it through having finished third in the second semi.
Kara Hanlon will also look to add to Scotland’s medal tally when she goes in the 100m breaststroke final after qualifying eighth in last night’s semi-finals.
