Duncan Scott admits questioning future before return to form and push for Paris glory

Olympic swimmer Duncan Scott says he questioned his chances of making the Paris Games during struggles in the pool last year.

The six-time Olympic medallist now believes he’s recaptured his best form ahead of the Team GB trials in London.

Hopes are high that Scott, who claimed four medals at the Tokyo Games to become Britain’s most-decorated athlete at a single Olympics, can make 2024 another year to remember but the 26-year said that at points over the last year, as he struggled with illness and training issues, he was filled with doubt.

“I wasn’t swimming great at all,” he told STV at an event organised by Team GB sponsors Aldi. “I had a lot of bouts of illness and was in and out of the pool.

“Consistency was not there at all and it meant that when I started competing I was really struggling.

“Then you start to question things, ‘Am I doing the right thing? Am I going to make the Olympic team next year?’ and different things like that.

“A year down the line and I am in a completely different shape and swimming better than I ever have done in certain events and training better than I have.”

Scott said that maintaining focus and determination in his training came from habit formed over the last decade-and-a-half, and that he had learned over time to handle ups and downs.

“I guess it’s just about instilling belief at certain points,” he said. “Not getting carried away when things are going well but at the same time when things going badly not getting carried away and just being level.”

With a difficult year behind him, Scott has regained his confidence and is looking ahead to the rest of 2024 with eager anticipation but he says that the most important thing for him as he determines what success would look like is simply from his own participation, rather than results.

“If I can maintain the level of enjoyment that I’m having with the sport at the moment, then for me regardless of how things go at trials or the Olympic Games, that’s a massive benefit,” he explained.

“From where I was last year with ‘Oh, this is really taking it out of me’ to where I am now, enjoying the group here in Stirling where we’ve got a lot of fresh energy and people with fresh ideas and passion. That’s really nice to train with.

“From a performance point of view, there’s certain things that I want to achieve as well. Being part of relay teams as well.

“Hopefully I can be on the podium a few times but let’s see how the trials go first.”