Adam Peaty Leading British Men to International Prominence

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Photo Courtesy: David E. Klutho-USA TODAY Sports

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Morning Splash by David Rieder.

Adam Peaty only swam two races at the Olympic Games in Rio, but boy did he leave his mark in both.

Peaty won Olympic gold in the 100 breast in dominant fashion, twice breaking his own world record and swimming an awe-inspiring time of 57.13 to win gold by more than a second and a half.

Six days later, he swam the breaststroke leg of Great Britain’s 400 medley relay. He entered the water in sixth place. While Ryan Murphy led off for the Americans in a world record-time of 51.85, British backstroker Chris Walker-Hebborn had struggled, hitting the wall in 53.68.

But by the end of his leg, Peaty had the Brits in the lead, a half-second up on the United States. His split of 56.59 was two seconds faster than anyone else in the field and more than a second faster than anybody else had ever swum.

Of course, the Americans had Michael Phelps going into the water at that point, and the greatest swimmer of all-time was not going to let his career end anywhere besides the top step of the medal podium. But the men taking over for Peaty at that point were no slouches, and they ensured that the Brits would end up comfortably in silver medal position.

Those two swimmers, James Guy and Duncan Scott, represent the other two reasons that British swimming fans should feel incredibly optimistic heading into the new Olympic cycle.

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Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Guy swam the butterfly leg on that medley relay—his strong split of 51.35 allowed him to stayclose to Phelps—but he is far better known for his freestyle skills. Guy was the World Champion in the 200 free in 2015 and won the silver medal in the 400 free at that meet in Kazan.

But in Rio, things did not go his way in the individual events. Guy had a big lead in the 400 free final through 300 meters but faded all the way to sixth. In the 200 free, a late charge left Guy a quarter-second behind bronze medalist Conor Dwyer.

On day four of Olympic swimming, Guy won his first medal. He anchored Britain’s 800 free relay to a silver, splitting 1:44.85 for the second-fastest split in the field.

Joining him on that relay was Scott, who posted a 1:45.06 split for the third-best in the race. On that same night, Scott had already qualified for his first Olympic final in the 100 free, and he went on to finish fifth a day later. He capped off the meet anchoring Britain’s silver medal-winning medley relay in 47.62.

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Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Britain only won three medals in men’s swimming in Rio, tied for fourth-most of any country behind the U.S. (17), Australia and Japan (five each) and China (four). South Africa and Italy also won three each.

The British men’s team is not well-rounded like the Canadian women’s. Walker-Hebborn’s decline has turned backstroke into a weakness, and no British man has qualified for a major international final in the 100 or 200 fly since 2009.

But there’s time for a core to develop around Peaty, Guy and Scott. After all, Peaty is 22 years old, Guy is 21, and Scott does not turn 20 until May.

Perhaps some swimmers will step up towards filling those gaps at this week’s British Swimming Championships in Sheffield. But regardless, this team is sure to rack up some medals at this summer’s World Championships in Budapest.

It would be a shock to see anybody but Peaty standing on top of the podium for the men’s 100 breast or for the 50 breast. Two years ago, Peaty set the world record in the 50 breast in the semifinals of the World Championships, posting a time of 26.42 before winning gold the next night.

Guy and Scott will contend for individual medals as well, but what will earn British men’s swimming the most respect is relays.

The British men’s 800 free and 400 medley relays figure to be among the short-list of favorites, particularly as the Americans lose Phelps. The last time the Americans swam sans Phelps in the 800 free relay, at the 2015 Worlds in Kazan, Britain won gold as Guy stormed past Michael Weiss on the anchor leg. The U.S. also will swim that relay without Ryan Lochte for the first time since 2003.

There’s work to be done to achieve powerhouse status, but the British men’s team that will be assembled over the next week has a shot at some serious hardware in Budapest.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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Thomas A. Small
6 years ago

Congratulations

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