Duncan Scott Swims 1:55.90 200 IM British Record, 11th Fastest Man In History

BRITISH OLYMPIC SELECTION TRIALS

Duncan Scott swam to victory in the men’s 200 IM at the 2021 British Olympic Selection Trials with a 1:55.90 to establish a new British record in the event. Scott became the first British man to get under 1:56 in the event, improving upon Max Litchfield‘s 1:56.64 from World Championships in 2017.

Litchfield set the mark in the prelims of the event back at 2017 Worlds and went on to take fourth place in the event in the finals with a 1:56.86. Scott and Litchfield had nearly identical splits in their respective national record-breaking swims with the exception of the breaststroke leg on which Scott out-split Litchfield by 0.56 seconds.

Comparative Splits

Butterfly Backstroke Breaststroke Freestyle Total
Scott 2021 NR 25.38 29.01 33.67 27.84 1:55.90
Litchfield 2017 NR 25.40 29.14 34.23 27.87 1:56.64

Scott’s 1:55.90 was enough to shave 0.75 seconds off his previous PB in the event of 1:56.65 which he swam at 2019 British Swimming Championships. Scott had only swum two sub-1:57 swims before in his life in the form of his 1:56.65 PB and a 1:56.91 at the 2019 World Championships. Scott previously held the Scottish record in the event meaning that he’s now lowered both the British and Scottish records to a 1:55.90.

In the final at 2021 British Trials, Scott’s national record-breaking swim was followed by Joe Litchfield‘s 1:57.74 for silver and former British record holder Max Litchfield with a 1:58.43 for bronze. Since both Scott and Joe Litchfield were under Britain’s Olympic selection cut of 1:58.32, they are likely to have secured a spot on the Olympic squad this summer.

The swim is an improvement upon Scott’s prelim swim and previous season-best of 1:57.77 which was, at the time, good enough for 8th in the world this season. His 1:55.90 British record, however, propels him to the #1 spot globally as the only swimmer to crack 1:56 this year.

2020-2021 LCM Men 200 IM

WangCHN
Shun
07/01
1:55.00
2Michael
Andrew
USA1:55.2606/17
3Duncan
Scott
GBR1:55.2807/30
4Jeremy
Desplanches
SUI1:56.1705/19
5Daiya
Seto
JPN1:56.2207/30
View Top 26»

Scott’s 1:55.90 secures his spot as history’s 11th fastest performer in the event, surpassing Wang Shun’s mark of 1:56.16 from back in 2017.

Duncan Scott will be back in action later in the week as he’s entered to race three more events at the meet in the form of the 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle in which he is seeded first heading into prelims (47.87 / 1:44.91), along with the 100 butterfly where he is seeded third (52.25).

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Breaking Bad News
2 years ago

Tracy Caulkins…best all around female swimmer in history.

iLikePsych
2 years ago

What an outstanding swim by Scott! A shame it falls short of the British Olympic qualifying standard of 1:53.99, but I have my hopes he’ll be selected by their committee anyway, he deserves it!

SWIMMING RULES
2 years ago

WOW. That is absolutely flying. Duncan Scott is gonna be great for years to come. Tokyo is gonna be exciting in all events.

Penguin
2 years ago

I believe he becomes the third swimmer to go under 1:45 in the 200 free and under 1:56 in the 200 IM. Good company

Last edited 2 years ago by Penguin
Penguin
Reply to  Penguin
2 years ago

So three swimmers under 1:56 and under 1:45 in the 200 IM and 200 free (Phelps, Lochte, Scott)
Which three swimmers have been under 4:12 in the 400 IM and under 3:44 in the 400 free?

STRAIGHTBLACKLINE
Reply to  Penguin
2 years ago

I believe it is Rosolino, Mellouli and Hagino.

Penguin
Reply to  STRAIGHTBLACKLINE
2 years ago

Erik Vendt, I don’t believe Rosolino makes the cut

Sam B
2 years ago

Duncan is so ridiculously talented, imagine what he’ll be capable of when he grows up. His 100 free at the World’s relay was epic

VA Steve
Reply to  Sam B
2 years ago

Don’t let SS’s old photo fool you. 6′ 3″ and 23 years old.

Troyy
Reply to  VA Steve
2 years ago

It’s a running joke because he still looks so boyish

Thomas Selig
2 years ago

Great swim from Scott, puts him firmly in the conversation for Tokyo.

One thing I noticed. While his splits here were very similar to M. Litchfield’s previous British record, breaststroke aside, they are quite different from what Scott himself split when he went 1:56:65 in 2019. His splits there were 24.95, 30.61, 32.85, 28.24, so fairly significant differences across all four splits.

Still room for improvement then?

SwimCider
Reply to  Thomas Selig
2 years ago

In 2019, Scott’s Bk-Br was to his feet. So both splits are inaccurate…

There's no doubt that he's tightening up
Reply to  SwimCider
2 years ago

Yeah this seems a good explanation, don’t think Scott’s backstroke was that slow (or his breast that quick! Only Kalisz does 32s lol).

A C
2 years ago

That was impressive!

Caleb
2 years ago

hot take: Scott will be the Olympic champion in the 200 IM but not the 200 free.

Khachaturian
Reply to  Caleb
2 years ago

With Rapsys and Matsumoto the bronze medal is gonna be insanely hard to get

Caleb
Reply to  Khachaturian
2 years ago

IMO it’s s pretty soft event with at least half a dozen guys who could win and a bunch more you might call legit medal contenders

Swimmer2
Reply to  Caleb
2 years ago

I just want to see someone go 1:43…

Ben
Reply to  Swimmer2
2 years ago

Haven’t we all I think someone has it in them at Tokyo

Penguin
Reply to  Swimmer2
2 years ago

I want to see someone go 1:41. How long do I have to wait? 🥱

Mr Piano
Reply to  Penguin
2 years ago

Probably 20 years

sunning
Reply to  Caleb
2 years ago

sun yang will be champion in 200 free