TOKYO (Reuters) – Duncan Scott spoke of the ‘Adam Peaty effect’ after becoming Britain’s joint most-decorated Olympic swimmer of all time on Friday with a silver in the men’s 200m individual medley.
The medal was his third of the Tokyo Games, after 4×200 relay gold and 200m freestyle silver, and fifth from two Olympics. The Scot won two relay silvers at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and is not done yet.
Britain has won six medals so far in the Tokyo pool, matching the country’s best performance since the 1908 Games, and Scott can become the first British athlete from any sport to win four in a single Olympics when he swims in Sunday’s 4x100m medley relay.
“This isn’t just a one-meet thing for British Swimming, it’s been going on for a while,” he said.
“It probably started with Adam Peaty back in 2015 when he first won the World Championships and then all the way through, his mental drive and the way he dominates races, it rubs off on people.
“He’s a role model around the pool environment and then away from it as well. Every walk of life. The way he just does things, he creates such a good environment.”
Team GB had headed for Tokyo after their best medals haul at the European championships in May and with a warning that this was their strongest ever swim team.
Britain won six medals at the Rio Games, the best performance since 1908, and is set to surpass that tally in Tokyo with high hopes for the mixed 4×100 relay and men’s medley.
Peaty provided Britain’s first gold of the Games when he retained his 100m breaststroke title while Tom Dean won the 200m freestyle in a one-two with Scott.
That was followed by 4×200 relay gold and on Friday Luke Greenbank added a bronze in the 200m backstroke after Scott’s medley silver.
“I came here to stand on the podium individually and did best times in the final so I can’t really ask for much more,” said Scott, second to China’s Shun Wang on Friday after surging past three rivals on the final leg.
Only five other British athletes have won three medals at a single Games.
Scott is the first British swimmer to win three at one Games since Henry Taylor in 1908. Taylor won a total five from three Olympics.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Peter Rutherford)
