In the many citations to come when Duncan Scott is done with gracing the fast lane with uncommon speed and skill, the following yin-’n-yang superlatives will feature in any review worth its salt:

• simple truth holding hands with deeper understanding (of the kind that gets to the braveheart of the matter)

Waves of both rolled with ease, and gently, from the keen mind and consciousness of Duncan William MacNaughton Scott as he spoke to a small scrum of British journalists on the eve of Aquatics GB Championships in London from Tuesday for six days. 

The meet doubles as selection trials for the European Championships in Paris this August (and for Scott's England opponents, the Commonwealth Games in the city of his birth, Glasgow, come July).

We’ll get to the who, where, when, why and with what in mind in due course. First up, though, here are a couple of examples of his dryland yin 'n yang in flow, when he was asked about Cameron McEvoy, his 20.88 World 50 free record at the China Open last month and this burning matter: beyond what the Australian sprinter earned in appearance fee and prize money for victory in Shenzhen, not a red cent would be coming his way.

McEvoy would not be disqualified like his predecessors in the amateur era if someone were to chuck him a tenner for his efforts these days, but that relative tenner is not going to feed his family, and the big question is a long, yet simple one:

• how is it possible that at the heart of the Olympic multi-billion dollar business, in which athletes are the key to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) generating such mega sums as over $12 billion in revenue during the 2021-2024 period, and World Aquatics boasted a 2024 revenue of $107 million, with a net surplus record of $51 million alongside assets that had grown to $241.51 million, the 'fastest swimmer' in history, with a blast thrilling in its execution, a masterclass for this wave and the next, McEvoy will earn nothing for his feat?

In comments that are not only truthful but entirely uncontroversial, as far as I can see, Scott said this of McEvoy, and a lack of financial reward of any kind let alone one that fits the specific feat and its magnitude and impact:

“And he's not going to get anything for that ...  that makes me remember something that frustrated me. I think it was only a few weeks before that… when Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky were racing [an 800m free on Pro Tour in the USA], and no one knew about it. Only a few people spoke about how they were going head-to-head. I checked World Aquatics Instagram, and they've got throwback pictures to when Kyle Chalmers [won the] 100 free in Rio [2016 Olympics], and other pictures of other things. And it's like, 'come on. how are people meant to be following along?' They're going to retire as two of the greats. Katie, arguably the greatest in our sport, and Summer will finish as one of the best females to ever compete in our sport, I'd imagine. Why do we not know that they're going head-to-head? I get it: that's in season, but still, publicise it and shout about it and let people know.”

Bravo!

Scott then dips below the surface to a depth of understanding critical to context and the integrity of advocacy sometimes missing in influencer-dom and the blogger-vloggersphere called 'media' but operating in a zone shy of the borderline to journalism. No apologies for that opinion from this writer, and particularly no to the folk out there, swimming or any other realm, promoting their 'coaching' expertise online with the kind of sales pitch that feels like wilful carelessness as it leans on 'second-cousin-twice-removed' connections to athletes they have never actually coached (and even, in some cases, never actually met).

Here's a snippet from Scott's take on how those responsible for selling and growing the sport of swimming and building the business model on the back of the athletes who provide the show and the coaches and other professionals who help them do so (bold simply the point I think worth paying particular attention to):

“Cam McEvoy, what he's done in terms of, his first career was great, and now you're looking at when he’s become: a 50 freestyler … that 50 freestyle (20.88 WR) is unbelievable, a super suited world record [gone] … he's just totally revolutionised the way in which people have trained and do the sport. But I think what people don't see is, you know, the ten years or so when he trained [another] way, and from that has totally flipped it and used [his] scientific brain … to look at other areas and … how to apply this force in the pool … The way that he's documented it has really drawn a lot of attention…”

Meaning …to the sport that needs attention drawn to it if it is to grow. Bravo!