It’s Olympic year and as a result, things feel that little bit different, admits Duncan Scott.
Paris 2024 is now only eight months away and with this being Scott’s third Olympic cycle, he’s well-versed in the slight, but not insignificant, change in the atmosphere that occurs as the Olympic Games draw closer.
For many athletes, this can feel like a burden but Scott, in contrast, embraces the increased pressure and expectation that Olympic year inevitably brings.
Certainly, Scotland’s most successful swimmer has responded well in the past; two silvers at Rio 2016 were then followed by a gold and three silvers at Tokyo 2020 making the Scot the most decorated British Olympian at a single Games.
And he’s hoping his slightly altered demeanour in this Olympic run-up will, once again, lead him to success.
“I quite like changing things for Olympic year,” Scott says.
“You see that from my performances. I view the Olympics as the absolute pinnacle of our sport and the way we train is very much in cycles for the Olympics.
“You’ve got to find slight mindset improvements because of the year it is.
“I become more stable emotionally in Olympic year – if I do something badly, I try not to let it affect me too much and if I do something really well, I shrug it off and try to stay level-headed. I think that’s really important.
“From the turn of the year, things like the media attention will ramp up and you can lose a lot of energy which can really affect your performance so I have to be aware of that kind of thing.
“It’s about putting one foot in front of the other, focus on the week ahead and not looking too far into the future.”
In comparison to the 2020 Games, however, Scott is in a somewhat more precarious position this time around.
For the Tokyo Olympics, Scott was one of a quartet of British swimmers who were pre-selected for Team GB well in advance of the Opening Ceremony, leaving the Olympic trials effectively meaningless to the select cohort.
This time around, though, Scott has not been granted the luxury of pre-selection meaning the next few months take on far greater significance to the 26-year-old.
A break from training of only a few weeks at the end of the summer preceded a heavy training block that included a stint at altitude in Arizona, which has left Scott feeling in good shape, something he’s particularly thankful for when his training last autumn and winter was decimated by numerous illnesses which led to a disappointing, by his lofty standards, season last year.
The strength in British swimming, coupled with Scott’s less than perfect pre-season training, resulted in the Alloa man being selected for a significantly reduced schedule of events at the World Championships earlier this year.
However, having had a block of training almost entirely unhindered by illness or injury this winter has resulted in Scott looking ahead to this season in an extremely positive frame of mind.
“My recent training has stood me in really good stead and I’m in a very good place to start the season off,” he says.
“The intensity I’ve been able to get to in training has been good. I’m not going to pretend I don’t look at the times I’m swimming – I’m an anorak of the sport and I know every fine detail that I want to do and I’m in a really good place right now.
“Last year, this period of time was awful for me – I was ill seven or eight times and that really affected the way I was able to perform in April (at the British Championships) so in contrast this year, it’s been a really good phase of training.”
Scott’s first competitive outing of the year is on the horizon.
He’s part of the British team that will travel to the Romanian city of Bucharest for the European Shortcourse Championships, which begin on December the 5th.
Gold at the event is one of the few medals missing from his CV but Scott is well aware of having greater priorities this season and so isn’t getting too caught up in talk of silverware.
However, he will be wearing his new swimsuit, the Speedo Fastskin 2.0, and will be in Bucharest aiming to get a marker for where he is in comparison to Europe’s fastest men ahead of the real action ramping up in the new year.
“The European Shortcourse isn’t something I’ve ever fully focused on, although I know a lot of swimmers do. A lot of swimmers have performed well there and it’s given them a real stepping-stone to move on,” he says.
“So while there’s other competitions this season that are a much bigger priority this season like the World Championships (in February) and the Olympic Games next summer. And obviously trying to qualify for the Olympic Games in April so while those are higher priorities for me than the European Shortcourse, I’m still looking forward to it. And knowing I’ll be standing on the blocks in the best suit in the world gives me confidence
“I feel in a good place but it’s difficult to really know until I race because I’ve not fully challenged myself in a competitive environment this season yet. So after the Europeans I’ll be able to shine a better light on where I am as I head into the new year.”
Speedo's Fastskin 2.0 is now available to purchase from selected retailers and online at https://www.speedo.com/
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