Duncan Scott Hits 1:56.88 Commonwealth Games Record For 200 IM Gold

2022 COMMONWEALTH GAMES

• Friday, July 29 – Wednesday, August 3, 2022
• Birmingham, England
• Sandwell Aquatic Center
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 10:30 am local / 5:30 am ET
  • Finals: 7:00 pm local / 2:00 pm ET
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Event Schedule
• Entry List (PDF)
• Live Results
• Day 6 Finals Heat Sheet
• Day 6 Finals Live Recap

MEN’S 200 IM – FINAL

• World Record: 1:54.00, Ryan Lochte (USA) – 2011
• Commonwealth Record: 1:55.28, Duncan Scott – 2021
• Commonwealth Games Record: 1:57.67, Mitch Larkin (AUS) – 2018
• 2018 Commonwealth Champion: Mitch Larkin (AUS), 1:57.67

Full Results

1. Duncan Scott (SCO), 1:56.88
2. Tom Dean (ENG), 1:57.01
3. Lewis Clareburt (NZL), 1:57.59
4. Finlay Knox (CAN), 1:58.95
5. Brendon Smith (AUS), 1:59.57
6. Se-Bom Lee (AUS), 1:59.86
7. James McFadzen (ENG), 1:59.87
8. Mark Szaranek (SCO), 2:00.73

Duncan Scott got the final session of the 2022 Commonwealth Games started with a bang. He blazed a 1:56.88 in the men’s 200 IM, winning gold and setting a new Games record. The old record was set at 1:57.67 in 2018 by Mitch Larkin, who finished ninth in prelims and missed the final. At the 2018 Games, Scott finished second behind Larkin.

Split Comparison: Scott vs. Larkin Commonwealth Games Records

The widest margin between the two is on breaststroke, where Scott out-split Larkin by almost a second. However, it’s Scott’s backstroke split stands out, even in comparison to Larkin, who is much more known for his backstroke than Scott.

The 25-year-old was fourth after the fly leg, but used a blistering 29.08 to take the lead on the backstroke leg, which he held the rest of the race. Lewis Clareburt, who took bronze, had the next fastest backstroke in the field, 29.82. Notably, Scott was faster on backstroke here than when he won silver at the Tokyo Games, where he swam 1:55.28 to set his Commonwealth Record.

Scott needed that everything that backstroke leg gave him to hold off Tom Dean, who charged on the back half of the race, clocking 32.97 on the breaststroke leg and 27.45 on freestyle.

This is Scott’s second gold medal of the meet; earlier, he out-touched Dean for the win in the men’s 200 freestyle. He earned bronze in the 100 freestyle, 400 IM, and Scotland’s 4×200 freestyle relay. He also finished fifth in the 200 butterfly.

It’s been a successful meet for Scott, who’s returning to competition after withdrawing from Worlds due to training struggles after getting COVID-19.