The 23-time Olympic champion won three straight titles in the 100 fly in 2004-2008-2012 although regardless of what happens in the French capital, he\u2019ll continue to stand alone with four consecutive Olympic golds in the 200IM between 2004 and 2016.<\/p>\n
Come Sunday 28 July and Peaty will write yet another line in the history books should he add to his crowns from Rio 2016<\/strong> and Tokyo 2021<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Peaty and Kosuke Kitajima<\/strong> are the only men to have won the 100m breaststroke at consecutive Games.<\/p>\n The Japanese swimmer triumphed at Athens 2004<\/strong> and Beijing 2008<\/strong> and also claimed the 200m titles to secure the double-double and be henceforth known as the \u2018Frog King\u2019.<\/p>\n Peaty has been making history since 2014 when he set WRs in the 50m breaststroke (26.42) and as part of the Great Britain mixed medley relay squad that went 3:44.02 at the European Championships in Berlin.<\/p>\n Adam Peaty: Photo Courtesy: Morgan Harlow\/Aquatics GB<\/p><\/div>\n There have been 14 world records in all but he describes the prospect of the three-peat as \u201cabsolutely incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI think that it\u2019s one of the greatest things an athlete can do is win at an Olympic Games but try and do it twice and try and do it three times.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a reason why not many people do it, I know that now. Because I\u2019ve been through it and it will send you round and round and round if you try and force it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So too does he see parallels between himself and Phelps.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously Michael Phelps had so many other things going on between those Olympic Games \u2013 seeking other things and trying to do other things.<\/p>\n \u201cBut my journey is very similar in that way that you almost feel like there\u2019s a void, especially post-Tokyo – I\u2019ve done it twice now, have I got enough in me to go for a third?<\/p>\n \u201cAt the time yes and then life deals its cards: I broke my foot, came back even harder and burnt out.<\/p>\n \u201cI had my own cards dealt and trying to come through those and trying to come through being a dad at the same time and all those other things going on in my life that I am finally at peace with but it\u2019s cost a lot to get here.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a sense I was willing to pay that cost but I\u2019m excited to see what we can do.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Peaty\u2019s tribulations have been well documented.<\/p>\n His 2022 was marked by upheaval. He broke his foot which forced him to withdraw from the World Championships in Budapest before returning for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where he tasted defeat over 100m for the first time in his career.<\/p>\n He split with the mother of his son George, before heading off to Melbourne for the World Short-Course Championships in December after which the storm clouds gathered and he started to spiral.<\/p>\n Adam Peaty: Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia\/Insidefoto<\/p><\/div>\n It was at this point he turned to alcohol, telling Swimming World last year:<\/p>\n \u201cI was chasing numbness because I was so burnt-out.<\/p>\n \u201cI came very close to stopping but I was just severely, severely unhappy and that was a very dark place because you tend to find other things to fill that void.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n He stepped away from the intensity of training and competition and confronted life past and present head on, distance enabling him to see that body and mind were not aligned in the athlete\u00a0who had described his drive as \u201cdemonic\u201d<\/a>\u00a0in its relentlessness and intensity.<\/p>\n Family and friends, partner Holly Ramsay<\/strong>, coach Mel Marshall<\/strong>, all who made up Team Peaty<\/strong> and Aquatics GB<\/strong> provided the strongest of support structures.<\/p>\n He also credits his faith and the community at the evangelical church he attends with playing a fundamental role in his journey back to health.<\/p>\n Marshall has coached Peaty since he walked through her doors as a 14-year-old at the City of Derby <\/strong>club where she was head coach.<\/p>\n A two-time Olympian and world, European and Commonwealth medallist, she will head to Australia after the Games to take up a high-performance role at Griffith University Swim Club, Queensland.<\/p>\n Their partnership has spanned 15 years with the pair blazing a trail that has taken them to the pinnacle and Peaty into the uncharted waters of 56.88.<\/p>\n After Peaty stepped away, Marshall encouraged him to continue going to the pool at\u00a0Loughborough National Training Centre<\/strong>, to spend time in the water.<\/p>\n Adam Peaty & Mel Marshall: Photo Courtesy: Mel Marshall<\/p><\/div>\n She told Swimming World:<\/p>\n \u201cThe community of swimming just opened their doors to us. We wanted a couple of training sessions that were just for a couple of months out of the way.<\/p>\n \u201cA school that let us swim in their little pool, just anybody I knew – let\u2019s get some different environments.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople just opened their doors and opened their hearts to help us through what it was and it was a really quite uplifting space, an uplifting time.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the pools was 25 metres and had a greenhouse roof and it was me and him and just being quiet and swimming.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a hard time but there was so much love out there for him. \u2018We want you to do well, we\u2019re here for you Adam.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was a bit of a rebirthing of him and a humbling experience really.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n To Peaty it came down to either retiring or returning to competition with an approach that was healthier for his mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n The 29-year-old didn’t want to live with any regrets or ask himself, \u201cWhat if?\u201d further down the road, a question all-consuming in its destruction and self-blame.<\/p>\n Ahead of his return in 2023, he told Swimming World:<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people in the sport\u2014because it isn\u2019t kind to older athletes in so many ways\u2014they hang it up, and that\u2019s their legacy done.<\/p>\n \u201cBut for me, it just didn\u2019t sit right that I would have done that.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think the pain of losing is nothing compared to the pain of regret, so for me I\u2019ve got to accept that challenge, and I\u2019m working really hard in and out of the pool to facilitate that.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And accept the challenge he did.<\/p>\n Peaty returned to competition at the Berlin stop of the World Cup tour in October last year and in February won 100m bronze at the Doha worlds.<\/p>\n At the British trials in April, Peaty posted his fastest time since Tokyo in 57.94, the only man through the 58 barrier in 2024 ahead of Qin Haiyang<\/strong> and his 58.24.<\/p>\n Adam Peaty: Photo Courtesy: Morgan Harlow\/Aquatics GB<\/p><\/div>\n Qin won an historic breaststroke treble at the Fukuoka worlds which he repeated days later at the Universiade and then at the Asian Games in September.<\/p>\n He was also reportedly among the 23 Chinese athletes who tested positive for the banned heart booster TMZ<\/a> which were ultimately attributed to contamination.<\/p>\n Doha champion Nic Fink<\/strong> and Tokyo silver and bronze medallists Arno Kamminga<\/strong> and Nicolo Martinenghi<\/strong> will all be jostling for medals.<\/p>\n While Peaty has his eyes on gold, the experience of the past few years has shown him that it\u2019s not the be all and end all in terms of his existence nor is it the answer to all his questions.<\/p>\n \u201cNow I do want to win, I want to be the best, I am the best \u2013 I\u2019ve still got the world record \u2013 and I am going to have a good challenge come Paris.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s the only thing that gets me excited, is a challenge at the Olympic Games.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s because I\u2019m an older athlete now.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been fortunate enough to work my way through each championship and win everything there is to win in this sport but now it\u2019s okay, how good can I win? My relationship with winning now \u2013 is it defined by a time, is it defined by something else?<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I have peace and that doesn\u2019t mean you go out there and it doesn\u2019t matter what happens \u2013 of course it does because you\u2019ve worked for it \u2013 but it\u2019s also that I\u2019m not defined by what\u2019s on the result board.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n How to balance peace and calm with finding the necessary drive and single-mindedness.<\/p>\n The final word goes to Marshall.<\/p>\n Mel Marshall: Photo courtesy: Aquatics GB<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cI always think love is more powerful than anger and Adam had a lot of power and anger but Adam got a lot of power and love as well,\u201d she told Swimming World.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I think getting those balances right and making sure that he\u2019d got enough of both is really important.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the biggest thing that Adam is, he\u2019s a big arena performer.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something so magical about the Olympics that I just think ultimately the emotion and the elevated experience of that is something that he is just really looking forward to being back there.<\/p>\n \u201cWe say we\u2019re going back home. Just like, we\u2019ll find a great energy and a great excitement about being able to get on to one of the world\u2019s biggest stages.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat it is to be inside that absolute spectacle, just phenomenal.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Adam Peaty & Mel Marshall: The Three-Peat, Rejecting The Pain Of Regret & ‘Going Back Home’ To The Biggest Stage Of All Adam Peaty will join Michael Phelps in an<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7575,"featured_media":570448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122074],"tags":[26806,40554,121233,107529,5917,51905,6302,54241,57812,58477,122205],"class_list":["post-591045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-europe","tag-adam-peaty","tag-arno-kamminga","tag-athens-2004","tag-beijing-2008","tag-kosuke-kitajima","tag-mel-marshall","tag-michael-phelps","tag-nicolo-martinenghi","tag-paris-2024","tag-tokyo-2020","tag-tokyo-2021"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP-5-700x500.jpg\")
The Loneliness Of The Pioneer<\/h3>\n
![\"ADam](\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/ADam-Peaty-2021-Europeans.jpg\")
Mel Marshall & The Love “Out There” For Peaty<\/h3>\n
![\"IMG-20210125-WA0097\"](\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG-20210125-WA0097-700x500.jpg\")
Heading To Paris Atop The Rankings<\/h3>\n
![\"adam](\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP-1-700x500.jpg\")
Marshall: Going Back Home To The Biggest Stage Of All<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Mel-Marshall-loughborough-600x500.jpg\")
Read more about Adam Peaty<\/h3>\n
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Read more about Mel Marshall<\/h3>\n
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