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Duncan Scott said this summer’s Olympics will be “pretty special” after he set up another tilt at gold by winning the 200m medley British title.
He beat rival Tom Dean and was under the qualification time to impressively win in one minute 55.91 seconds.
Scott won Olympic silver in the event in 2021, one of four Tokyo medals, and will likely challenge Dean and dominant Frenchman Leon Marchand in Paris.
“It’s a stacked event like all of the events,” the Scot, 26, said.
Scott, who has six Olympic medals but is yet to win an individual gold, showed his form again with the second-quickest time of his career, having taken silver in the 100m freestyle on Thursday.
Dean, the Olympic champion in the 200m freestyle, was also under the qualification time, 0.53 seconds behind in silver to effectively seal his place in the event in Paris and keep alive his bid for a record five medals in Paris.
Scott took silver and Dean bronze at last year’s World Championships, behind Marchand who has broken various medley records in recent years, including the great American Michael Phelps’ world record over 400m.
Another contender will be China’s Wang Shun, who won gold in Tokyo and set the fastest time in the world last year.
“I try not to look at what other people are doing around the world but you have to block quite a few things out to avoid what he [Marchand] is doing,” said Scott, who was already confirmed to travel to Paris for the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay, and is likely to compete in the 100m freestyle after his results this week.
“He is a really special talent with what he is able to do – break Phelps’ record, I thought as a young kid I would never see that go.
“He is really special but at the same time there is Wang, and plenty of Americans. It’s going to be pretty special.”
Elsewhere, 21-year-old Honey Osrin won the women’s 200m backstroke title with a personal best time to secure her place at a first Olympics.
Katie Shanahan also made it under the qualification time for the silver medal – her second of the week following her performance in the 400m medley.
Stephen Clegg won his third gold of the week in the para 100m butterfly while Brock Whiston also won the para 400m freestyle under the qualification standard.
William Ellard won his first title of the week in the para 200m medley, having already set a world record and a British record in his previous events this week, to all but seal his place at the Paralympics.
There was also a major shock in the men’s 100m butterfly as Joe Litchfield, younger brother of Max who won the 400m individual medley on Thursday, took the title – a result that has an intriguing impact on one of Team GB’s medal targets in Paris, the men’s 100m medley relay.
Although Litchfield missed the qualification time for the individual event, he will travel to the Olympics for the butterfly leg of that race, having beaten the favourite Jacob Peters and two-time Olympic relay gold medallist James Guy.
Peters hit the qualification time in the heats but was off the pace in the final, managing only third, while Guy was fifth.
Litchfield’s 100m fly personal best, made in Friday’s final, is 0.55 seconds slower than Peters but, unless there is a surprise in another event or the coaches use their discretionary picks to take a second option, it will be he who lines up in the relay squad, likely alongside Adam Peaty, new British backstroke record holder Oliver Morgan and one of Britain’s array of elite freestylers.
In the night’s other events, Holly Hibbott won the 400m freestyle title but missed out on the Olympic time while Harvey Phillips won the para 50m breaststroke but was outside of the nomination time for Paris.
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