the eagerly anticipated 100 metres breaststroke showdown between Michael Jamieson and Ross Murdoch at the Scottish Gas National Championship had provoked so much mouth-watering in swimming circles you could have filled another pool with the salivating excess.
For the third day running, the dooking enthusiasts shoehorned into the Tollcross International Swimming Centre had plenty to drool over and this was the watery showpiece they had been waiting to see.
Jamieson, the Olympic silver medallist, admitted after winning the 200 metres breaststroke on Friday that his performance had been "pretty rubbish". It's tough at the top, eh?
Murdoch, meanwhile, was cock-a-hoop after his British record-setting triumph in the 50 metre breaststroke the day before.
In the end, it was Murdoch, the highly-talented Stirling youngster, who left his rivals treading water. The 20-year-old, who continues to grow in stature with every success, powered away from the pack over the closing 50 metres and claimed not only the notable scalp of Jamieson but a Scottish record in the process with a time of 59.75.
"I'm over the moon," said Murdoch as he adopted the kind of jubilant spoutings usually reserved for huffing and puffing footballers. "That's three personal bests and three Commonwealth Games times this week. I'm delighted. I didn't feel like I was fully rested coming into this event so I wasn't quite sure what to expect."
Jamieson, very much one of the poster boys of the 2014 campaign, had to settle for second with a time of 1:00.82 but there was agony for third-place finisher Craig Benson as he missed the Commonwealth cut by a margin that was as tight as an ill-fitting pair of Speedos and must have left him feeling like he could fling himself off the Red Road flats in despair. Benson earned a podium place with a time of 1:01.58 but was just an excruciating 0.01 of a second off the qualifying standard. He will have another crack at making the grade when the British Championships take place at Tollcross next weekend. Perhaps he could grow his finger nails to extend his touch? Unfortunately, he's probably chewing them down to the quick as the tension mounts.
It's a long way from Florida to the east end of Glasgow but Warrender's Dan Wallace acclimatised quickly with a purposeful push in the 200 metres individual medley.
The 20-year-old, who returned to Scottish soil earlier in the week after competing for his University of Florida team, shrugged off any lingering effects of jet lag and eased to victory with a time of 1:59.95. That was good enough to make the Commonwealth Games qualifying target and, having already achieved a similar goal in the 400 metres freestyle, the journey back across the big pond has been rewarded.
"I wasn't feeling great with jet lag when I first got back but I've been getting better and better each day," said Wallace.
With the multi-functional ability of a Swiss army knife, Hannah Miley coasted to a dominant four-second victory in the women's 400 metre freestyle although her time of 4:11.69 was still a second or so shy of the Glasgow 2014 qualifying mark. Having already claimed three Scottish titles earlier in the week -- the 800 metres freestyle as well as the individual medley crowns at both 400 and 200 metres - while making the Games qualifying target in all of them, there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful. "It was a shame I didn't quite make the time but it's all looking good," said the smiling Scot, who revels in a quite exhausting workload of various swimming disciplines. "As long as my arms and legs don't fall off."
Miley later added a fifth title to her pile of honours as she won the 200 metres breast stroke.
In the men's 200 metres backstroke, Craig McNally expressed his "relief" after booking his Glasgow place with a first place finish and a time of 1:58.87. Richard Schafers added his name to the growing list of Commonwealth hopefuls with victory, and a Scottish record of 22.47, in the 50 metres freestyle while the University of Stirling's Sian Harkins also passed the qualifying test en route to victory in the 50 metres butterfly.
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