Team GB swimmer Cameron Kurle has said that his friendly rivalry with Duncan Scott helped him towards a silver medal in the men's 200m freestyle at the European Games today.
Kurle recorded a personal best time of 1:48.92 at the Baku Aquatics Centre to claim second place, coming home just 0.37 seconds off gold medallist Scott.
It was the first time that the 17-year-old had broken the 1:49 barrier, and afterwards he spoke to Sports Mole about his performance and how the individual medal compares to the ones he won as part of the relay team earlier this week.
Congratulations Cameron. Can you sum up how you're feeling right now?
"Absolutely buzzing after that. I did not expect it at all to be honest. I was expecting it to be a really close race between the four of us guys who were at 1:49, but it just turned out to be me and Duncan leading the way, especially Duncan. Duncan took it on strong, I knew I had to come back at him and I just gave it everything."
Is there a bit of a friendly rivalry between you and Duncan?
"Yeah. He's a good mate of mine, he's just a quick boy. A very quick boy."
Was it more satisfying to share the podium with a teammate?
"Yeah, definitely. He's got a lot of experience and he's a star, so he's bound to do well. So I'm just happy that I'm near him."
Do you look to learn from him in situations like today's then?
"Yeah, definitely. He's got a 1:48.20 this season, so I look up to him as a friend as well."
You must be happy with your time in that final...
"I'm very happy, a 1:48 for the first time. I was expecting to go low 1:49, so it was near it, but 1:48, I was just ecstatic."
How does this medal compare to the relay ones you've won this week?
"It's about the same, but obviously individual has a personal touch so a bit better."
Do you prefer competing individually or as part of a relay?
"I like being a team player - I love being around the team, especially with Team GB, everyone's come really close together and we've become like a little family. So it's about the same I'd say."
