“That was the last individual race of my career. And I couldn’t have picked a better way to end it,” Ross Murdoch stated emphatically in the minutes after winning bronze in the 50m breaststroke at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year.
There seemed no doubt in his mind that his elite swimming career, which had spanned a decade and had seen him become a household name after winning gold at Glasgow 2014, was over.
But, just as Steve Redgrave failed to stick to his “if you ever see me in a boat again, shoot me” proclamation all those years ago, Murdoch is dogged with uncertainty that he has hung up his goggles for good.
