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SCOTT DROPS EUROS IN BID FOR DOUBLE GOLD

By MARK WOODS

DUNCAN SCOTT has revealed he will throw everything at a golden double at this summer’s world championships and Commonwealth Games — but give the Europeans a wide berth. The six-time Olympic medallist will get one of his last warm-ups for his global title shot in Budapest at the Glasgow International Meeting which begins today. Following his British record at the recent UK trials, the 25-year-old has decided to take part in the 400m individual medley at the worlds, despite the event sitting outside his usual portfolio. And he believes his original plan of a treble shot at worlds, Euros and Commonwealth within two months would have left him struggling to stay afloat. ‘My whole longevity and continual improvement operates around the Olympic Games,’ he said. ‘What I want to get out of this year is around the worlds. But then, on top of that, a lot of the people I’ve been closest with — that I’ve been training with and raced with — are going to retire after Commonwealth Games. And it’s quite important that I share that moment with them. If I was wanting to do a Europeans, I’d like to do it properly. I wouldn’t want to just go there because I have to go there. I’m not going to steal someone’s spot, because it’s important for a youngster to get an insight into what a major competition is like. ‘At the Commonwealths, it’s going to be nice to go up against the Aussies again and compete with a couple of the guys I train with at the minute. Martyn Walton is someone I’ve trained with for the last seven years. He’s already said he’ll be stopping after the Games, so Birmingham is quite a sentimental thing as well.’

Half the British team is tuning up at the Mare Nostrum in Barcelona, the other half at Tollcross ahead of the worlds in just 22 days’ time. Scott is not yet at his peak but the Glasgow International will be a dress rehearsal for the multiple challenges that lie ahead. ‘Glasgow’s more to do with challenging myself in back-to-backs and putting myself under quite a bit of pressure, just to really see where I’m at in the races,’ he said. ‘That’ll be quite apparent in the finals. It will really give me a good insight into where I’m at for the worlds.’

Cycling

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2022-05-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-27T07:00:00.0000000Z

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