Duncan Scott MBE

Duncan Scott MBE is Scotland’s most decorated Olympic athlete ever in addition to being Great Britain’s most decorated Olympic swimmer ever and Great Britain’s most decorated athlete in any sport at one Olympic Games. He has two gold and six silver Olympic medals to his name, most of which were achieved while studying for a degree in business and sports studies at the University of Stirling in Scotland.

In 2014, at the age of 16, Duncan burst on to the international swimming scene winning a Commonwealth Games silver medal in the 4x200m Freestyle Relay for Team Scotland in Glasgow. Soon after in 2015 he made his first appearance at the European Games, winning three golds and three silvers to become Great Britain’s most decorated athlete. Later that year, at his debut appearance at a World Championships, he took home the gold medal as part of the men’s 4x200m Freestyle relay team.

In the lead up to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Duncan competed in the European Swimming Championships in London, where he claimed two gold medals in the men’s and mixed 4×100 Medley Relays.

The summer of 2016 cemented Duncan’s status on the international swim scene. He returned from the Olympics as a two-time silver medallist having formed part of the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle and 4x100m Medley relay teams that finished narrowly behind the all-star USA team led by Michael Phelps. A testament to his huge potential, Duncan also achieved a fifth-place finish in the Men’s 100m Freestyle, in the process setting a new British record of 48.01 seconds and becoming the first British man to reach the Freestyle final since Bobby McGregor in 1968.

This success continued into 2017 as Duncan won a silver medal in the 4x100m Medley relay before successfully defending his 4x200m Freestyle relay title at the World Championships in Budapest.

At 20 years old, Duncan had amassed the highest ever total of medals achieved by a Scottish swimmer in a Commonwealth Games. The 2018 Gold Coast event saw Duncan win a total of six medals: one gold, one silver and four bronzes. In honour of this incredible contribution to Scotland’s largest ever medal tally (44), Duncan was selected as Team Scotland’s flag bearer at the Games’ closing ceremony.

Duncan’s blistering form continued as he claimed 4 medals at the European Championships in Glasgow; gold in the 200m Freestyle, men’s 4x200m Freestyle relay, and men’s 4x100m Medley relay, and silver in the 100m Freestyle.

The 2019 World Championships in Gwangju saw Duncan walk away with a gold in the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay and Bronze in the 200m Freestyle and he rounded off the year with the inaugural International Swimming League. Heree Duncan played a key role in the London Roar team who finished the tournament second overall.

2020 was the longest he’d experienced out of the pool, but Duncan maintained his exceptional form as he rounded off 2020 with a series of successful swims at the ISL for a second year. He set a new British Record in the 200 Individual Medley and broke the British Record for the 200m freestyle twice, a week apart from each other.

Despite the delay of the Tokyo Olympics, Duncan maintained his focus and form and at the 2021 British Championships his unwavering form resulted in three fantastic swims. He began the week by setting a new British Record of 1:55:90 in the 200IM, then went onto equal his existing British Record in the 100m Freestyle and finished off with a new British Record in the 200m Freestyle with a time of 1:44:47 in what was a phenomenally competitive field.

Duncan continued to impress at the European Championships a month later in his final stretch to the Olympics. He took home 2 golds in the mixed 4×100 free relay and men’s 4×100 medley relay in addition to 3 silver medals in the 200m free, men’s 4x 100 free relay and men’s 4×200 free relay.

With a busy racing schedule Duncan continued to make history, claiming an impressive medal haul at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He achieved gold in the men’s 4 x 200m freestyle relay and silver in the men’s medley relay which set a new European record of 3:27.51. He also took silver in the 200m freestyle and the 200 IM where he set a new British Record of 1:55.28, making him Great Britain’s most decorated athlete in any sport at one Olympic Games and Great Britain’s most decorated Olympic swimmer ever.

This record haul deservedly led to Duncan being recognised for services to swimming in the 2022 New Years honours list with an MBE.

Having missed the 2022 World and European Championships due to illness, Duncan made history once again at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. He amassed 2 gold medals in his signature 200m freestyle and 200m IM in addition to 4 bronze medals, making him Scotland’s most decorated athlete ever in the Commonwealth Games.

2023 saw Duncan recoup and keep his head down as he prepared to go again. The World Championships in Fukuoka in July were his first major competition in a year and saw him win silver in the 200IM in addition to relay gold and bronze. He rounded off the year at the European Short Course Championships in Bucharest. Not entering his usual 200 freestyle event, he blazed to gold in the 200IM and set a new British Record time of 1:50:98. The week also saw him win a relay gold and silver.

With all eyes on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Duncan proudly secured silver in the 200IM, beaten narrowly by France’s own Leon Marchand before storming to gold in the Men’s 4x200m Freestyle Relay and swimming the fastest split of any of the swimmers in that race. The two new additions to his medal collection made him the most decorated Scottish Olympian of all time with a total of 8 to his name, and with LA 2028 firmly on the cards, there’s still more to come.

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