Scotland’s most-decorated Olympian has revealed Sir Chris Hoy sent him “a lovely message” for breaking his record.

Swimmer Duncan Scott, who now has eight Olympic medals following this year’s games, officially owns more than the Scots cycling star, who earned six gold medals, all of them gold, during his competitive career.

On Wednesday, Mr Scott attended an Access to Pools For All programme in his home town of Stirling at The Peak, a local leisure facility that has received National Lottery funding to give the community a place for children to learn how to swim.

Speaking to the PA News Agency, Mr Scott, 27, was asked if he had spoken to Sir Hoy since overtaking him as Scotland’s most decorated Olympian.

He said: “He sent me a lovely message. I’ve not had time, obviously, being back here, you know, we don’t want to bother each other, but he sent me a lovely message, and as I say, he’s someone that I’ve looked up to for many years.”

Asked how he is feeling now that he has the record for most medals in Scotland, he said: “Yeah, it’s quite an odd sentence to hear. You know, growing up with, with so many great sporting idols and so many greats from Scotland as well, that I’ve been able to watch on TV.

“And, you know, from Andy Murray being a real hero of mine to Sir Chris Hoy, someone that I grew up watching dominate on the world stage, Olympics after Olympics.

“So yeah, to kind of be in that sort of company is quite a strange, quite a strange one for me to hear.

“But it’s been an amazing competition. I’m really, really happy.”

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Duncan Scott visits children and staff during the Access to Pools for All event at the Peak Leisure Centre, Stirling.Duncan Scott visits children and staff during the Access to Pools for All event at the Peak Leisure Centre, Stirling. (Image: PA)

He says that leaving a legacy behind is not something that athletes often set out to achieve, but something unintentional.

He said: “I think that’s a real privilege of the sport. And you know, if it’s that thing of inspiring the next generation, then that’s a real bonus.”

The real legacy, he continued, is that the Olympics inspires more people to try a sport for the first time.

He said his recent win was “really special” as many of his friends and family were able to be there in person, compared with Tokyo in 2021, where none of his friends or family were able to attend with much of the world in lockdown.

He added: “But yeah, being in Paris, you know, it meant they were able to have a really big British crowd. And yeah, my family and friends took real advantage of that.”

He says he will remember competing in this year’s Olympics as “fond memories”.

Asked if he is expecting to compete in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, he said: “Well, that’s a wee while away, but, you know, from between now and then, there’s no need for me to come close to stopping any time soon.

“I’ll be as good as I can get at the minute and there’s so many areas that I can improve on, so much in the sport that I’ve not achieved and I’ll try as well as I can to be in that team in LA.”