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From dyslexic schoolboy to confronting Sun Yang: How Duncan Scott rose to Olympic greatness

Duncan Scott celebrates after anchoring Great Britain to victory in the Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay on day five of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 28, 2021 - Getty Images AsiaPac
Duncan Scott celebrates after anchoring Great Britain to victory in the Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay on day five of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 28, 2021 - Getty Images AsiaPac

The name Duncan Scott had previously only seeped into the consciousness of an audience much beyond swimming for the anti-doping stand he took in 2019 when he refused to pose for photographs or shake hands with the Chinese swimmer Sun Yang.

“You’re a loser, I’m a winner,” shouted Sun, while confronting Scott in a furious response which, two years on, has never felt more hollow.

Sun, who had won the world 200m freestyle title, is not in Tokyo. He is continuing to serve a ban of four years and three months while Scott stands on the brink of becoming the most decorated British Olympian at any one single Games.

A silver medal early on Friday morning in the 200m individual medley takes his tally this week to three - equalling the swimming record of Henry Taylor that has stood since 1908 - and, barring the aquatic equivalent of a dropped baton in the men’s medley relay on Sunday morning, he will move out alone on four.

And that is in front not just of Taylor, but an elite list of only six other British athletes with three medals. Reginald Doherty (tennis, 1900), Taylor (swimming, 1908), Bradley Wiggins (cycling, 2004), Chris Hoy (cycling, 2008), Max Whitlock and Jason Kenny (gymnastics and cycling, 2016) are currently the only other members of that particular club.

It is a distinction which Scott, who is dyslexic and cites graduating last month from the University of Stirling with a 2:1 in business and sports studies as one of his proudest achievements, had been unaware of until it was put to him by journalists on Friday morning. “I need to try and put that to the back of my mind but I’m obviously delighted with how things have gone,” he said.

Silver medalist Duncan Scott of Team Great Britain reacts on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Men's 200m Individual Medley Final on day seven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 30, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan - Getty Images AsiaPac
Silver medalist Duncan Scott of Team Great Britain reacts on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Men's 200m Individual Medley Final on day seven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 30, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan - Getty Images AsiaPac

“I came here to stand on the podium individually, and I did my best times in the final so I can’t ask for much more. I will evaluate it at the end of the week but I have a couple of important things to do for relays.”

A multi-event specialist, Scott now has 28 different medals at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World and European Championships and, if all goes to plan, he will have swum nine races in the space only of a week. That daily need to perform has meant a deliberate decision to remain only in the “bubble” of the Team GB swimming group in Tokyo and, unlike some of his team-mates, he has been noticeably absent this week from social media. Even contact with friends and family has been virtually eliminated.

“I have not spoken to anyone,” he said. “I am not too bothered by what the outside says in terms of how I have raced. I can't say I have messaged anyone or looked at messages but I would say that I am really grateful for all the support I have had.”

Switching off from the outside world, and remaining on an even keel throughout any race week, has been a learnt skill over the past four years. It was especially important when his stand over Sun’s appearance at the 2019 World Championship in Gwangju became a huge global story. There were even death threats on social media but Scott stuck quietly to his principles, explaining that his actions were about the wider culture and question of a swimmer being allowed to compete pending an appeal for a second missed doping test.

China's Sun Yang, centre, gestures to Britain's bronze medalists Duncan Scott, left, following the medal ceremony in the men's 200m freestyle final at the World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. Chinese swimmer Sun Yang has been banned for eight years for breaking anti-doping rules and will miss the 2020 Tokyo Olympics - AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

There was no such controversy here, with Scott applauding another Chinese swimmer, Shun Wang, who had beaten him to gold in Friday’s 200 individual medley as they shared the top podium step.

It must have all felt like a long journey from learning to swim in Troon with his father, before joining the South Ayrshire Club where he was taught by Mike Boles and Maria Hughes.

Boles recalled a “wee smiley boy” but, even from the age of eight, a swimmer of rare talent. “He was speedy,” said Boles. “As soon as he was in the club, we got him into the first mini league team we could get him into. Even then he was winning.” Scott progressed to the point of winning a scholarship to attend Strathallan School where he continued his progression into the Scottish national squad.

Aged 16, he won eight national age-group golds and he has since remained based in Scotland at the High Performance Centre in Stirling rather than joining one of Team GB’s national centres in Bath or Loughborough, and may now continue combining his swimming with part-time studying for an MA. “The first and second years at university, I did find challenging, but by the third, I really started to enjoy it,” he said.

And what of Team GB’s extraordinary aquatic performance at these Games? “There’s been a real focus in British swimming on changing the culture,” said Scott. “The environment I’ve been a part of since 2015 I’ve really enjoyed - the professionalism from athletes, people willing to own up if something doesn’t go well, rather than pointing fingers. Hopefully there is a lot more to come.”