SCOTLAND'S greatest-ever swimmer David Wilkie is delighted to see the sport here so competitive.

Wilkie won Olympic gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 1976 Olympics, and it is in this event Scotland’s current stars are excelling.

One of the most exciting rivalries in Scottish sport is between Michael Jamieson and Ross Murdoch; the former won Olympic silver in 2012, but the latter upset the odds to win Commonwealth gold last summer.

Wilkie admits to being fascinated by the battle and is convinced that it will do Scottish swimming nothing but good.

“The Jamieson-Murdoch rivalry is great and I think it gives people who might not be interested in swimming a real reason to watch,” he says.

“I think it was quite shocking for Michael [to lose in Glasgow]. I think he felt that he just had to turn up, swim his four lengths and they would give him the gold medal. Then this young guy, Murdoch, comes along and beats him.”

Murdoch was a real underdog at Glasgow 2014, but his victory propelled him into the spotlight and the 21-year-old goes into this month’s World Championships with an excellent chance of making the podium.

His attention will then turn to the Olympic Games next year and Wilkie believes that the University of Stirling swimmer will be hitting his peak at exactly the right time.

“Murdoch is looking very good – the perfect age for a breast-stroker is 22, so he’ll be at the right age to peak in Rio next summer,” said the three-time Olympic medallist.

“Will Ross go on until he’s 26 – of course he will, so he’s got an opportunity after Rio, too. He should make the team [for Rio], there’s no doubt about that but will he win a gold medal – I really don’t know about that because it’s a very tough event.

"There’s a lot of top-class swimmers in there at the moment, so it’s really just a case of watch this space.”

For Jamieson, the last 12 months have been a testing period. His Glasgow 2014 defeat hit him hard. So hard, in fact, that the 26-year-old missed out on selection for the World Championships for the first time since 2009. To recover from such a severe blow, Wilkie believes, is not easy.

“A setback like that can work both ways – it can either totally destroy you or it can give you the fillip you need to push on,” he says.

“The problem is, though, that the breaststroke is so strong in Britain at the moment, it’s really world-class and it’s the toughest event to be in, so if Michael does come back then good on him.

"I had knocks during my career, everyone does, and you’ve got to be prepared to take them. I’d love to see him come back because he’s a really nice guy and a good swimmer.”

Wilkie was in Glasgow promoting this month’s IPC World Championships and hosting events such as this is exactly what the 61-year-old believes this country must do.

“I think it’s great to have events like this coming to Scotland,” he said.

“There will be swimmers from over 70 countries here and the public are really enamoured with para sport now, they realise just how good these athletes actually are.”

Watch the world’s best male and female para-swimmers in action at the 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships in Glasgow from July 13-19. Tickets priced £10/£15 for Adults and free for Under-16s are on general sale and can be bought online via ticketmaster.co.uk/glasgow2015