Benson does his bit to aid relay team

LIVINGSTON swimmer Craig Benson brought down the curtain on his debut Olympics in fine style as he helped the British 4x100m medley relay team book their place in Saturday’s final.

The breaststroke specialist took over from Liam Tancock on the second leg and kept his nose in front as the British quartet won their heat in 3.33.44minutes. Benson, who made the semi-finals of the individual 100m breaststroke earlier in the week, will not compete in the final as newly crowned Olympic silver medallist Michael Jamieson will step into the breach.

And the 18-year-old admitted that it was a case of job done for him and the quartet of Tancock, Michael Rock and Adam Brown. “I knew I was only going to be swimming in the heats so my goal was to make sure we made it through to the final,” he said. “We’re ranked 14th so to win the first heat was amazing and the crowd were fantastic, it was the best experience in my life to be quite honest. We were in first the whole way pretty much and every time first flashed up the crowd went crazy. To have Liam leading out before I dived in was fantastic. That really got me going down the first length and then I just had to hold on as hard as I could on the way back.”

While his Games are now over, Benson insists he’ll return a stronger swimmer for his experiences in London. “This has been an unbelievable experience for me, the best time of my life,” he added. “To be at a home Olympics is incredible and I’m only 18 so this will stand me in good stead for the future.”

• Bank of Scotland, proud supporter of Team GB and proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Get closer to the Games at bankofscotland.co.uk/London2012