Duncan Scott spends his life staring at the long black line. But Team GB’s most decorated Olympian at a single Games originally had his head turned on the tennis courts before taking to the pool.
He was inspired by the feats of local hero and fellow Olympic gold medallist Sir Andy Murray, who lived just 20 minutes down the road from Scott's hometown Alloa. As a youngster, Scott became an accomplished county-level tennis player before dropping the sport aged 13 – not that he brags about his game these days.
"I wasn't great to be honest, I was just someone that was keen to turn up, get beaten six-love and go home. But it’s a sport I love.
"I used to watch Andy train at Stirling, and I’ve loved watching him compete against arguably the best players ever in Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal."
Scott first started swimming in the humble beginnings of a small club in Troon. He counts South Ayrshire Swim Team, Alloa ASC, Bo’ness ASC and Grangemouth ASC as previous clubs.
Such grassroots clubs are vital to nurture the early stages of athletes’ careers and they have benefitted from over £6.7 billion in funding from the National Lottery since its inception almost 30 years ago.
Scott’s next step in the sport came when he first started working with coach Steven Tigg. The two first crossed paths when Scott was just seven years old at their local leisure centre and have since forged an athlete-coach partnership like no other, with both heading to their third Olympic Games this summer.
Scott said about Tigg: "He believed in me way more, way earlier than I did myself. And I’m hugely grateful for that.
"I would put my longevity solely down to him."
The 27-year-old became Team GB's most decorated Olympian at a single Games at Tokyo 2020, winning one gold and three silver medals. Add that to his two silver medals at his maiden Games at Rio 2016 and Scott boasts a staggering six medals from just two Olympiads.
A third Olympics at Paris 2024 now brings another opportunity for Scott to write his name into the history books, with just three medals needed to equal Sir Jason Kenny as Britain's most decorated Olympian of all time.
But there are a couple of swimmers standing in his way to glory with home hero Leon Marchand of France ready to set the 200m individual medley field alight and Romania's David Popovici a fierce rival in the 200m freestyle.
Scott said: "Leon didn't make the 200m IM final in Tokyo and I wouldn't put any money on him not making it this time. If Popovici gets back to his best in the 200m freestyle then there's some real quality there.
"So it's going to be difficult, a real difficult ask. I'm personally not going to be thinking about it at all. Even in Tokyo, I had no idea that I had done that [broken the record] until the media told me.
"It's not something I think about or what drives me but it could be that little added external factor that comes in."
With now six Olympic medals in the pool, it's clear Scott made the right choice to stick to swimming, with his incredible feats in Tokyo now ranking him alongside Team GB legends. But it was only after the his final race in Japan when the history-making achievements clicked and Scott was able to look back on his achievements in awe.
Realising that amongst the names of Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Steve Redgrave, only Scott has won four medals in one Olympiad.
He added: “Team GB have been so successful since the Lottery money came in, so many medals have been won. After the media of my last race I did think, out of all the great athletes that have come out of Team GB, the people I grew up supporting and loved from Chris Hoy to Redgrave to Murray, I'm the one sitting here with the most medals from a single Games.
"It was a realisation that it was something quite special I was able to achieve there."
Scott qualified for his third Games at the 2024 Aquatics GB Swimming Championships in early April, cementing his opportunity to chase for more silverware in Paris, including the men's 200m freestyle.
With the defending Olympic champion Tom Dean, 2024 world champion Matt Richards, 2015 world champion James Guy and a plethora of other Olympians in the final, the stage was set for one of the greatest domestic races in British swimming history.
And Scott, who won silver in the event at Tokyo 2020, touched the wall second behind Richards to qualify for the individual event once more in Paris, letting out a roar of emotion following a difficult 2023 that saw a dip in form question his place in the pool.
"There was a let out of emotion from how poorly I swam last year and missing out on World Championships," he said.
"Last year I was in and out of the pool a lot with illness and the inconsistency had caught up on me.
"Trials in 2023, it was a difficult drive up from Sheffield back home that Sunday night. There was plenty going through my head and that's when the thoughts of 'I'm getting older' creep in.
"But I've kept receipts of what people have said and who's written me off. I've labelled them and I can look at them when I need to as external motivating factors that drive me.
"Whatever pressure other people put on me, my own expectations far exceed that."
With more than £30M a week raised for Good Causes, including vital funding into elite and grassroots sport, National Lottery players support our Olympic and Paralympic athletes to live their dreams and make the nation proud, as well as providing more opportunities for people to take part in sport. To find out more visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk
