ADAM Peaty opened Team GB’s account in the pool and there is a very good chance that Duncan Scott will follow suit within 24 hours. 

Five years ago in Rio, Scott was the junior partner in the men’s 4x100m medley relay that won silver, one of two silver medals for the then 19-year-old.  

Coming into Tokyo, Scott is established as a leader, and booked his place in the final of the 200m freestyle in style as the fastest qualifier in a time of 1:44.60. 

The Stirling swimmer’s rivalry with teammate Tom Dean has pushed both men on, and with nearly half a second advantage over the rest of the field in the semi-finals, this could well be Scott’s time. 

He said: “It feels good. It’s great to have Deano as well, I love racing with him, he’s a great teammate, we’ve been in an apartment together as well so it’s really good fun.  

“The first semi-final was slower. It’s something we’ve noticed with the evening heats and the morning finals. We were on it really well this morning, we just need to rest up for the dogfight that will be tomorrow morning.” 

It was a fine morning for the swimmers from Stirling, with Kathleen Dawson also securing a spot in the final of the women’s 100m backstroke. 

The event promises to be the best of the entire meet in Tokyo, with three Olympic records set in the heats, and another in the first semi-final. 

European record-holder Dawson qualified fifth fastest for the final, while the top three have all held the world record at some point. Dawson is only too aware of the immense challenge she faces to crack the podium. 

She said: “It’s such a stacked event, I’m just glad to be a part of it. It’s such a fast field and I’m glad to be part of it at this point of history. 

“I’m definitely going to give it a fight and try and get on that podium. 

“The quality has really picked up this past year.” 

There was disappointment for Glasgow-born swimmer James Wilby however, who had to settle for fifth in the final of the 100m breaststroke. 

The 27-year-old produced his best swim of the meet so far, going 58.96, but there was no hiding the disappointment of missing out on the podium as teammate Adam Peaty defending his title, two years after the pair had shared the podium in this event at the World Championships. 

Wilby said: “I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed. It was my best race that I’ve done here so far so I’ll take that for what it is. 

“My full focus is now on resting, resetting from this – I’ve got other races to do and that’s the other thing to keep focussed on. 

“It’s good fun racing together (with Peaty). We’re based at the same location and that’s always fun. 

“I’m not on the podium this time but hopefully that’s something we can continue doing.” 

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