KATHLEEN Dawson plans to seize her shot at redemption with both hands after leading the Brits to an Olympic record in the heats of the 4x100m mixed medley.
The 23-year-old Fifer, hugely disappointed with sixth in the 100m backstroke final, provided the initial impetus before Adam Peaty, James Guy and Freya Anderson finished the job to sweep into Saturday morning’s final (3.43am).
Their time of 3:38.75 was also a European record and it hands Dawson and Anderson an amazing chance of a first Games gold with Peaty and Guy out to add to their hauls.
And the Scot said: “It was great. I’m glad I managed to pull my finger out in the team event and manage something I couldn’t do for individual. I’m really happy I went through in first place.”
They would be the first-ever winners of the mixed medley which has been added to the Olympics in a shake-up of the programme.
And Peaty said: “Coming to Olympics, it shows that swimming doesn’t have to stay the same as it has for the past 100 years. It can develop and evolve to the modern world with new races that keep it entertaining.”
James Wilby faded from third to sixth in a gripping men’s 200m breaststroke final as Australian Izaac Stubblety-Cook took gold in an Olympic record of 2:06.38.
And the Glasgow-born hopeful said: “I am disappointed. It was a pretty strong race, physically and mentally. It is what it is.”
Dawson’s Stirling University team-mate Cassie Wild was almost speechless from crashing out in the heats of the 200m backstroke.
The 21-year-old, who took silver at May’s European Championships, was nearly five seconds down on the Scottish record she set there in finishing a lowly seventh in 2:12.93.
She said: “I was hoping to have moved it on after having had such a good swim at Europeans. I just don’t know what to say about it.”
Elsewhere, American idol Caeleb Dressel landed his fourth Olympic gold - and his second in Tokyo - in the 100m freestyle by fending off Australian rival Kyle Chalmers in a Games best of 47.02 secs.
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