CLACKS swimmer Duncan Scott made history last night with Team GB as he secured a seventh Olympic medal to his name.
Duncan, who grew up in Alloa, came back from heartache suffered in the 200m freestyle final earlier in the week to earn gold with the 4x200m freestyle relay team in Paris on Tuesday night.
It means the swimming star has matched Sir Chris Hoy in being Scotland’s most decorated Olympic athlete.
And the relay team, which also included James Guy, Tom Dean and Matt Richards, also made history by becoming the first four swimmers to successfully defend an Olympic 4x200m relay title, having won in Tokyo 2020.
As much as it was the smallest of margins that made the difference in Monday’s individual freestyle final, the relay team finished more than a second ahead of silver medallists from the USA.
However, with so many talented athletes in the pool, it was no mean feat and Duncan had to push hard from wall to wall to bring the gold home for the relay team with the quickest split time turned in all night.
Duncan told BBC Sport Scotland: “There are so many great individuals in that team but when we come together it is so special.
“It fills you with confidence going up in the block with those guys.
"I am standing behind an Olympic champion, a world champion and a world champion. I'm thinking, 'I am in a pretty good place'.”
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Despite his achievements, and the fact he swam the fastest of the winning quartet, Duncan remains humble and played down comparisons to Chris Hoy when speaking to the BBC.
The 27-year-old insisted he is “nowhere near the level of athlete” Sir Chris has been and added: “I've had so many medals won by relay team-mates and I can't thank them enough for what they do and how much they've done.
"They put me in a phenomenal position there tonight, like they always do. It's pretty cool in terms of numbers, but he's got quite a few better colours than I do."
Duncan, who trains at the University of Stirling, could add one more to the tally at La Defense Arena in the 200m individual medley on Friday, having put Monday’s heartache behind him.
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