Swimming World Performance of the Week: Adam Peaty’s Barrier-Blasting 100 Breast

Photo Courtesy: Ian MacNicol

Adam Peaty’s world record on Friday in the 100-meter breaststroke continues to have people in amazement over the fact that a man has now completed the distance in 57 seconds. The 20-year-old’s time of 57.92 is a barrier breaker, and sets up a major summer season for the Englishman as he heads toward his first world championships.

Peaty’s splits were remarkable. He touched at the 50-meter turn at 27.04, just four tenths slower than his 50 breast world record of 26.62. But he showed that the pace was not too fast, becoming the first man to swim the second 50 meters in less than 31 seconds with a stunning 30.88. The swim made Peaty the first Brit to own a world record since Gemma Spofforth set the women’s 100 backstroke world record in 2009.

Adam Peaty world record race video

As you can see from the video, Peaty does not subscribe to the philosophy of a low stroke count. Peaty took 20 strokes in the first length, then 26 on the final 50.

Peaty’s rise to last weekend’s world record was fairly meteoric, given that he had qualified for his first senior-level international competition in 2013. It is not common to see a a male who has just turned 20 to break a swimming world record, but Peaty’s coach Melanie Marshall appears to have her top charge on the path to have a long career ahead of him. Peaty made his breakthrough at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where he won the 100 breast and was second in the 50. A month later, he broke the 50 breast world record.

Peaty swam the race in the same pool where Cameron Van Der Burgh set the previous world record of 58.46 in the 2012 Olympics. These two will renew their rivalry at this summer’s world championships, where Van Der Burgh will not only look to regain his world record, but beat Peaty after finishing second to him last year at the Commonwealth Games.

Congratulations, Adam, you’ve won the Swimming World Performance of the Week!

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Justin Lim

9 years ago

Xu David?

Peter Scott

9 years ago

Amazing swim!! 🙂

Dunc1952

9 years ago

Woo-hoo!