Scott's World Championship goes relay swimmingly with global gong

Duncan Scott has shown in Budapest that he is more than just a relay swimmer but the collective events seem to bring the best out of him after he added to his medal collection on the final night of the World Swimming Championships.

Crowned world champion in the 4x200m freestyle relay last Friday, Scott was back in relay action for the final event of the meet, anchoring Britain in the 4x100m medley relay on Sunday.

Joined by Chris Walker-Hebborn, Adam Peaty and James Guy, the Falkirk-trained swimmer was able to add silver to that freestyle gold, with a blistering split of 47.04 on the final leg ensuring the Brits held off the fast-finishing Russians.

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With a pair of individual near misses in the 100m and 200m freestyle, the F.I.R.S.T. graduate has continued to establish himself on the world stage, but he admits that when it comes to the relay, this team is driving him on.

“It’s another similar position to last year, two medals in relays again which I’m obviously delighted with,” said the 20-year-old.

“When you’re going in (in the relay) there’s a bit more adrenaline because you don’t actually want to lose this lead. They put me in quite a nice position.

“I’m always pretty high up the field when I dive in, in the 4x1 medley. They make easy work for me which is always quite nice. The group of guys is phenomenal.

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“When you’ve got those three in the team, you’re going to be diving in a good position, so it’s just about focusing on your own race which I think is what I did.”

While the British quartet added World silver to the Olympic silver they managed last year, Scott’s next major meeting will be as a rival to his teammates.

At the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in April, the other three members of the relay squad will be competing for England, but Scott, and countryman Ross Murdoch, who had helped Britain through the heat here, will ensure there is a rivalry between the teams.

He added: “We’ll be splitting up, and we’ll see what happens then!”

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You can help the next generation of young British swimmers by getting involved in SportsAid Week this September with five-time Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds OBE. Find out more about how you can support the week of fun and fundraising by visiting www.sportsaid.org.uk/sportsaidweek.