COMMONWEALTH Games gold medal-winning swimmer Ross Murdoch was on hand to give tips to three generations of the same family who are gearing up to take part in this year's Great Scottish Swim.
The athlete met with the intrepid Gray family, headed up by grandad Gordon, 55, his son David, 31, and grandsons Dylan and Darren Connell, 14 and 12 on the banks of Loch Lomond yesterday.
The event takes place at the Loch on 29 August, giving the 2,000 expected participants the chance to swim distances ranging from a half mile course to one mile, two miles and a gruelling five kilometre "half - marathon" swim.
The family were joined by Jane Turner, 68, from Renfrew, who is taking part in the Great Scottish Swim for the first time to fundraise for Macmillan as thank you for the care support they provided her daughter in her battle with cancer.
Ross, from nearby Balloch, won the gold medal in the 200 metre breaststroke at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and will be tackling the highly competitive one-mile elite race, going up against some of the world's best open water swimmers.
He said: "It was great to meet Jane and the family today ahead of the Great Scottish Swim. I commend Jane for coming out of the pool and heading for the open water - trying something new a little later on in life is a big achievement. In terms of the family, seeing three generations take to the water is fantastic and really encouraging for the sport of swimming, both indoor and open water.
"Swimming in Loch Lomond is an incredible experience, the setting is so beautiful and it's great fun on the day with an incredible atmosphere. "With four distance options available there is a swim to suit all ages and abilities, and I would encourage everyone to dive in to the challenge and take part in the Great Scottish Swim."
Swimmer Gordon Gray added: "Meeting Ross and listening to his top tips has been good motivation for the Great Scottish Swim in August. I've taken part in the swim five times previously but it will be the first time we have swam together as a family and we are all really looking forward to it."
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