Duncan Scott was still dripping as he slid stealthily past a steward and disappeared down a staircase and out of view.
He was not in the mood to talk anymore. The one interview he had done was one more than he wanted to do.
The 27-year-old’s dreams of a seventh Olympic medal, of matching Sir Chris Hoy’s tally of the most won by a Scot, had been snatched away by less than a tenth of a second. A margin so small that it defies comprehension.
Having been fourth to reach the wall in the 200m freestyle on Monday, the Team GB swimmer was the first out of the water. The look on his face was part disbelief, part distraught.
He might not have been the outright favourite, but this was to have been his night.
After silver in this event in the Tokyo Games, the wee boy from Alloa was going to be the big man in Paris.
But instead he was left gawping at the huge scoreboards in this incredible tub of noise, gasping for air, and wondering what had happened.
Positioned in the fifth lane, Scott was fifth after 50m. No panic. Easing his way in.
Still fifth after 100m. Okay, time to wind it up a bit, big fella.
Fifth as they turned for the final length. He needs a big finish here.
Scott produced one but it wasn’t big enough. He was 0.15 seconds away from gold, 0.13 away from silver, and 0.08 off bronze.
His belief he needed to swim faster than ever before to win a medal – in what those who know about these things deemed “a slow pool” – turned out to be misplaced.
David Popovici’s winning time was well within his purview, given Scott’s one minute 44:87 seconds here was 0.61 slower than the one that earned him silver in 2021.
That British rival Matt Richards took second place perhaps only adds to that sting.
“I don’t really know what to say,” Scott said. “Fourth is a horrible place to come. Several hundredths of a second away from winning a medal, or even better.
“I was buzzing going into that, and had really good fun in there. Looking back, I maybe should have pushed it on a bit earlier.
“It was really tight and came down to the finish but I didn’t quite have it today.”
Scott has talked regularly in recent months about his busy schedule in Paris.
About how he would only assess the meet at the end of it. About how he had to manage his emotions. About how he could not afford to get too high or too low.
The test for him now is matching word with deed after a disappointing start.
On Saturday, an opportunity was missed in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Now this. His programme is halfway gone and without reward.
Tuesday brings another strong relay chance – this time in the 4x200m freestyle – before he closes with the 200m individual medley on Friday.
Games poster-boy Leon Marchand will be in that one, though, and the Frenchman has already won the 400m version in an Olympic record. He’s the man to beat.
Four golds is his target, just as it would have been for Scott. Now you get the sense that one might be enough.
Source Agencies
