Scottish swimmer Kathleen Dawson wins Olympic gold in Tokyo
The Kirkcaldy-born athlete - who is based at the University of Stirling - is part of the team who stormed to victory in the inaugural mixed 4x100 metres medley relay final.
Last updated 31st Jul 2021
Scottish swimmer Kathleen Dawson has won a gold medal in Tokyo.
The Kirkcaldy-born athlete - who is based at the University of Stirling - is part of the team who stormed to victory in the inaugural mixed 4x100 metres medley relay final in a new world record time at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
Kathleen Dawson in action in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final
This event has been added to the Olympics schedule for the first time - where two males and two females must be selected but the nation can use any combination in the backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle splits.
Dawson came back from a tricky start after slipping in her push off the wall in a leg where she was up against four males, including the 100m and 200m backstroke winner Evgeny Rylov of the Russian Olympic Committee.
"I had a little bit of an issue,'' she said.
"I couldn't quite feel my hands. Somehow I slipped going in."
"I wasn't quite sure what I did...when I did it."
"I think I managed to keep calm and after that it was about focusing to try and get the best performance I could out of myself.''
Scottish Swimming have congratulated the athlete on Twitter calling it a "stunning gold medal & world record"
While Sport Scotland has said it was an "incredible performance from Kathleen."
On Twitter Team Scotland has said, "congratulations Kathleen Dawson, part of a world-record 4x100m medley relay swim!"
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