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

Scott overcomes pressure and big pal Dean to give Scotland golden startImage source, ReutersImage 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).ByRichard WintonBBC Sport Scotland at Tollcross International Swimming CentrePublished10 minutes agoDuncan 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 Published1 hour agoCommonwealth Games day one - as it happenedWhy is it so special to be part of Team Scotland?Published13 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 a...