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.
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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."
