“Not a minute goes by without me thinking about it. To actually do it is just amazing.”
When asked what he could achieve in the sport, Benson, who won three golds for Scotland at last year’s Commonwealth Youth Games, replied: “If I keep improving, then who knows? The final? A medal?
“I am improving at such a fast rate.
“Last year at this competition I went three seconds slower than what I just did.
“I will need to sit down with my coach and plan some targets.”
Benson joins fellow Scots Hannah Miley (400m medley) and Robbie Renwick (400m free) in the team to compete at the same London venue in the summer.
And he was keen to mention the influence of the team chef in his preparations.
He told Scottish Swimming: “He is great. Any food you want, he’ll make it – salmon, pork chops.
“He’s got a tiny cooker to work on. It has definitely made a big difference here.”
His Warrender coach Laurel Bailey was delighted at the progress made by her student.
“It’s amazing. He hasn’t put a foot wrong for the last 18 months,” she said.
“He has worked as hard or harder than any swimmer I know. He came here last year and finished ninth and today he was second.
“He loves to race. He stands up on the blocks and thinks he can beat anybody.
“We deliberately did not let him race this season, to hold him back for this meet so that he really wanted it.”
