Scott overcomes pressure and big pal Dean to give Scotland golden start

Image source, Reuters Image caption, Scotland's Duncan Scott (centre) set a new Games record to beat Lewis Clareburt of New Zealand (left) and England's Tom Dean (right). By Richard Winton BBC Sport Scotland at Tollcross International Swimming Centre Published 18 minutes ago Duncan Scott and Tom Dean have won together. They've lost together. They train together in Stirling. And at a thumping Tollcross on Friday, they stood together on the blocks waiting for the first big swimming final of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow to start. Scott in lane two. Dean in lane three. Back to back. Little more than a metre between them. But by the end of the 200m individual medley that distance had grown. And grown significantly. Scotland's poster boy Scott might have only finished little under a second in front of his big pal from England - who had to settle for bronze - but that is a lifetime in the world of elite swimming. The 29-year-old's time of 1:56.38 was rapid for four lengths of furious thrashing, each one a different stroke. It was near-enough half a second quicker than the Games record he set in denying Dean gold in Birmingham four years ago. "I'm pretty happy with that," the never-knowingly overstated Scott told BBC Sport after an emotional rendition of Flower of Scotland. "It was well executed and, to be honest, it's more of a relief rather than anything." Scotland win three medals in 45 minutes to kick-start Glasgow 2026 Published 1 hour ago Commonwealth Games day one - as it happened Why is it so special to be part of Team Scotland? Published 13 hours ago 'I don't usually feel expectation, but that one I did' Scott didn't look to be carrying the baggage of expectation when he sauntered out of the call room a little after 19:00 BST, grinning and taking in the splendour of the scenes around him. But the anticipation of success was there. There among the clammy crowd. There among Team Scotland. And even there among his rivals. After all, he is his country's most decorated Games athlete. "Duncan had an incredible front end to that race," an upbeat Dean - who moved up to Stirling last year and has struggled badly with injury - told BBC Sport afterwards. "I train with him every day. I know what he does." Knowing it and doing something about it are different things, though. Evan Jones gave it a go early on from lane one - touching the wall a fraction in front of his Scotland team-mate after the fly - but then Scott uncorked the good stuff. His backstroke put him ahead. His breaststroke moved him clear. And he turned for home knowing a fourth Games gold was his. Dean - who recovered from seventh at halfway - and New Zealand's Lewis Clareburt probably knew it too, but they grafted gamely to keep Scott honest all the way to the wall. To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, 'The noise was exceptional' Scott was not being caught, though. Not tonight. Not here. Not with his Scotland kit o