Duncan Scott breathes life into Commonwealth Games and has message for Australia after pull-out

A veteran of Glasgow 2014, he returned to the Tollcross pool in imperious fashion on Friday night to win the men’s 200 metres individual medley, taking his medals haul in the Commonwealth Games to 14 across four editions.

This was his fourth Commonwealth gold and one to savour as he broke the Games record in a time of one minute 56.38 seconds.

Scotland needed a good start to boost interest in the Commonwealths which have started to look a little frayed around the edges in recent years. Australia pulled out of hosting when costs spiralled and Glasgow stepped in with a budget, scaled back version.

It needs some home heroes and Scott is certainly that. But there will be no wild celebrations for the University of Stirling stalwart. Firstly, he doesn’t seem to be the sort to overdo it. And secondly, there is still a lot more to come from Scott.

Asked how long he would have to savour his latest success, he said: “I've got the relay now, so probably about 20 minutes!”

“It's a tough one,” he added. “It's a long meeting. I might not be racing much tomorrow, but it's still the recovery process. You still want to be good come day five, day six. The recovery process starts now, but then also getting ready for the relay that's up pretty soon. So, yeah, I don't know how I'll celebrate. Probably an early night, I guess.”

Scott, who held off a late surge from New Zealand's Lewis Clareburt, who took silver, is a fierce defender of the Commonwealth Games whose very future was called into question before Glasgow’s salvage operation.

Legend’s message to Australia

Asked if he had a message for Australia, he said: “Yeah, thank you. Look, I think there's been lots of question marks about the Commonwealth Games. Scotland have done a magnificent thing. They've been able to put their hand up and take it on over such short notice. Obviously, it's a slightly reduced format, but India have already taken on the next one [agreeing to host in 2030].

“They're wanting to fully size it back up again, which hopefully is the continuation of what is an incredible competition. So, yeah, I think Scotland deserves a lot of credit.”

Scott did indeed return for the 2x100m freestyle relay, joining up with Evan Jones, Matthew Ward and Dean Fearn in the final event of the night. The Glasgow crowd roared them on but they were just outside the medals, finishing fourth behind winners Australia, who had a stellar night. England were second and South Africa third.

The brilliant Scott had an inspiring supporting cast alongside him in the Tollcross pool, with Faye Rogers leading the way. The University of Aberdeen swimmer was a silver medallist in the Paris Paralympics in 2024 but it was gold this time for Rogers who triumphed in the women’s 200 individual medley SM10 final in a time of 2:29.61, three seconds quicker than in her semi-final. Jasmine Greenwood of Australia was second and Mary Jibb of Canada third.

Scotland also struck double silver on a memorable first night of swimming action. Katie Shanahan won two bronzes in Birmingham four years ago and she went one better in her hometown. She led at one point but was just pipped for gold in the women’s 200m backstroke, finishing second to Jenna Forrester, with the Australian 0.37 of a second faster than Shanahan. Fellow Scot Holly McGill was fourth.

The Clegg family continued to shine for Scotland and there was a silver for Stephen in the men’s freestyle S13 para final for the partially sighted, with gold going to Nathan Hendricks of South Africa. Clegg’s older brother, James, was joint fourth. Stephen and James’ older sister Libby was a sprint gold medallist on the track when Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Elsewhere, England’s Adam Ramsay-Peaty stormed into the final of the men’s 100m breaststroke and there were gold medals for Australian women’s trio Lani Pallister in the 400m freestyle, Jenna Forrester in the 200m backstroke and Jenna Jones in the 100m freestyle S13. Compatriot Alex Saffy won the men’s 100m S10 butterfly final.

Scotland were edged out in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, finishing fourth behind winners Australia, second-placed England and third-placed South Africa. But it was a memorable night nevertheless for the hosts, with the promise of more to come, particularly from great Scott.