Duncan Scott: Commonwealth Games standard-bearer on Glasgow 2026 appeal

“I love that we are all part of a team where everyone has a different Everest,” Scott told BBC Sport Scotland.

“Some just want to be there, some want to reach a final, others are looking for a medal, and some are big-name Olympians and I love that disparity.

“In Team GB, it’s all about the elite, but in Team Scotland we’ve all grown up together in the sport and know each other’s journeys and are really invested in each other being successful, in whatever form that takes.

“Each person’s goal is just as important to everyone else – and I love that.”

Scott’s goal in Birmingham was six medals and he came home with 200m freestyle and 200m individual medley gold among his haul. Add eight Olympic medals – no Scot has won more – and his place in the pantheon is assured.

The competitor in him wants more, of course, even if his schedule next summer is likely to be lighter in a nod to his advancing years.

He intends to defend his two gold medals and is relishing the 4x200m freestyle relay given the strength of the home nations – an event in which he won his first Commonwealth medal 11 years ago in Glasgow’s Tollcross pool.

“I was 17 and got my place quite late – I was a bit of a wildcard,” he recalls. “The emotion will be the same this time, even if I might not be quite as nervous.

“It’s not often you get one home Games, never mind two, so that’s special and to be named in the squad so early takes a bit of the pressure off.”