Olympic hero Duncan Scott sets LA target, reveals Chris Hoy message and plots way to beat French superstar

Duncan Scott has no plans to retire and will strive to become Britain’s most decorated Olympian in LA in 2028 but admits he’ll have to go back to the drawing board to find a way to beat French superstar Léon Marchand.

Marchand was the home hero at the Paris Olympics, becoming the sixth swimmer in history to win four individual gold medals at a single Games. Scott didn’t do too badly himself, winning relay gold in the 4x200 metres freestyle and silver in the 200m individual medley where he was beaten by Marchand.

It took the Alloa swimmer’s Olympic medal tally to eight from three Games. Sprint cyclist Jason Kenny remains out in front on nine in terms of Britons with the most medals, with Scott tied with Bradley Wiggins in joint second place. Chris Hoy is third on seven. At 27, Scott feels he can achieve a lot more in the sport.

Duncan Scott with his Olympics medals at the Peak Leisure Centre, Stirling, where he was giving expert swimming tips to Learn to Swim classes. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Images

“I’m swimming almost better than I’ve ever swam,” he said. “It was 11 races across eight days in Paris - I swam for eight of the nine days. I finished the week and felt it was a great week of swimming for me, being able to anchor some great relays and individually swim pretty well too. I’m really happy with the way it’s gone but there is still plenty more in the sport that I want to try to achieve.”

Marchand is 22 and Scott anticipates plenty more jousts with the Toulouse all-rounder as he aims to get the better of the man who beat Michael Phelps’ Olympic record in the 200m IM and missed out on Ryan Lochte’s world record by 0.06 of a second.

“I go into every race believing I’ve got an opportunity to win, no matter who I’m against,” said Scott, who was back at poolside yesterday to coach kids in Stirling as he highlighted the importance of community facilities for children from all backgrounds.

“I think that’s the beauty of sport, anything can happen. But as much as that, I’ve got to respect him and put my hands up. He was 0.06 off the world record in the 200m IM at the end of what was an unbelievable week of swimming for him.

Duncan Scott give swimming tips to kids at the Peak Leisure Centre in Stirling. He is part of an athlete ChangeMaker initiative, a partnership between The National Lottery’s operator, Allwyn, Team GB, ParalympicsGB and UK Sport to support athletes who want to help social impact projects they are passionate about. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Images

“He’s definitely up there for one of the best athletes I’ve competed against but at the same time I’m going to have to compete against him for a wee while longer so I need to go back to the drawing board. Where does he take the most away from me? At what point is he a lot better than me? I need to go back and work on that and see how much I can close the gap. If I can close it a little bit then I guess you never know.”

The self-effacing Scott says he is uncomfortable being compared to the likes of Hoy and Kenny, stating he is “in a completely different bracket to these guys” but the swimmer’s achievements have not gone unnoticed by those Olympic titans, with Hoy getting in touch.

“He sent me a lovely message and I got back to him,” said Scott. “He’s always really supportive of whatever I’m doing. As I’ve said many times before, he’s someone that inspired me a lot when I was growing up, watching him compete and dominate on the world and Olympic stage. He always showed up when it mattered and it’s a real honour to be put in the same sentences as him.”

While the prospect of becoming the Briton with most Olympic medals might appear a tantalising carrot for 2028, Scott said it would be wrong to focus on that. “I’ve probably got to look at what’s going to get me there rather than the outcome. I think when you start focusing on the outcome then mentally it can be quite difficult to get there.

“There is plenty more in the sport I want to achieve so if I can keep working on how I’m going to get better and continually improving then that will put me in the best place possible come LA.”

Duncan Scott is part of an athlete ChangeMaker initiative, a partnership between The National Lottery’s operator, Allwyn, Team GB, ParalympicsGB and UK Sport to support athletes who want to help social impact projects they are passionate about - whether it’s grassroots sport projects, sustainability, mental and physical wellbeing or LGBTQIA+ inclusion.

• We haven't always appreciated our great swimmers - it's time with Duncan Scott we did