Duncan Scott As Hungry As He Ever Was - Solo Olympic & World Gold Still Among Goals "I Think I'm Capable Of"
"That's the one thing you don't need to be worried about; I'm as hungry as ever ... I'm the most decorated silver medallist at the Olympics ... it's kept me hungry for this entire time and it allows me to keep pushing and wanting to find those extra small percents." - Duncan Scott
Affinity. Feel for water. That first plunge back in after the longest break from training in an illustrious international career more than a decade old. Describe, I ask of Duncan Scott.
As is often the case with one of Britain's all-time top 4 most-medalled Olympians, humour precedes a glimpse of the depths that go some way to explaining Scott's success in the pool. He starts with he "luck" of where he landed, at the water's edge; where else!
"I was quite lucky. A lot of it [his break] was beach-focused. I spent some time in Hawaii ... just the way that they are with water, and everything on that island is to do with water. And, you know, I kind of love that."
The land and sea of Duke Kahanamoku, 'Father of Surf' and two-time Olympic 100m freestyle champion of 2012 and 2020. Here he is:
Craig Lord
Do you surf?
"I fall off. I crashed really badly a few times ..."
No matter. It's the pioneering in the pool I'm interested in - and so is Scott, who leaves the prelims of his answer behind and takes us home:
"We're creatures of habit. Just getting into that routine was really nice and, probably, that feeling of pushing your body, as well, but then also that tranquil space for me; just being able to jump in and kind of just ..."
He pauses for a brief moment before beckoning us into the water with him:
"... the noise just all disappears when I go into the water and, kind of, just switch off."
He's half man, half porpoise in that sense, his skills enough to make a Dolphin take a sidewards glance, perhaps not on a board skimming the waves, but surely in a tank with four walls that is as much a realm of freedom for Britain's most versatile swimmer as the open ocean is to every driven Flipper out there.
A couple of weeks shy of his 28th birthday, Scott's hungry, too - and happy to reassure all that his appetite is no less keen as he aims for a fourth Olympics kn owing he'll be in waters tested to fine outcome by Michael Phelps, among others racing more than a lap to podiums new in their 30s:
"That's the one thing you don't need to be worried about ... I'm the most decorated silver medallist at the Olympic Games. I've had plenty of seconds and near misses, and with that comes a lot of motivation in itself. ... There's so much that I still want to try and do and try and achieve in the sport and that I think that I'm capable of doing as well."
We get to what he has in mind a little later but let's looking in the rear-view first...
