“Like a Poison in My Veins”: Adam Peaty Motivated by Recent Podium Miss

by Riley Overend 18

November 01st, 2022 Britain, Europe, International, News

After placing fourth in the 100 breast at the Commonwealth Games in July, Adam Peaty said he needed to “find that spark again.”

The 27-year-old Brit didn’t have to search hard for that spark — losing seems to have lit a fire underneath the current world record holder. Peaty hadn’t lost in his specialty event at a major international meet in nearly a decade, so he took it personally.

“Incredibly useful,” Peaty said of his 100 breast defeat serving as motivation. “It’s like a poison in my veins,” a feeling he never wants to experience again. 

Peaty didn’t sleep the night of his Commonwealth Games loss in Birmingham and still managed to prevail in the 50 breast. The two-time individual Olympic champ has only developed more hunger this offseason with the prospect of becoming the fifth swimmer to secure a gold medal in the same event at three consecutive Olympics in a row at the Paris 2024 Games. Only Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, Dawn Fraser, and Krisztina Egerszegi have accomplished the feat. It has never been done before in breaststroke before. 

After spending a few months at the end of 2021 as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and six weeks recovering from a fractured foot earlier this year, Peaty seems passionate about swimming again and determined to prove that this summer was a fluke. 

“People call it a competitive edge,” Peaty told The Times. “But for me, it’s more than a competitive edge. It’s relentlessness. It’s almost demonic, it takes over me.”

Peaty opted to sit out the European Championships in August to “reflect and decompress.” He also recommitted himself to training, even at times pushing his coach Mel Marshall, to challenge him more. 

“If I’m going 12×50 [lengths] max, is there an option to go 20?” Peaty asked.

Next up on Peaty’s calendar is December’s Short Course World Championships in Melbourne, where he plans to test himself “with no expectations.” After the meet, he’ll stick around in Australia and train for eight weeks.

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crossover kick
1 year ago

Peaty going for the 3 peat is epic. Can only imagine but it must have been humiliating and shameful for him to miss the podium in the commies. Get after it big dog

Gheko
1 year ago

Adam trains harder than anyone else, that’s why he will win in Paris!

MIKE IN DALLAS
1 year ago

I always thought that “Project Immortal” was more ego than swimming, but now, it’s looking to be even truer!

Swim2win
1 year ago

Peaty won’t 3 peat. Martinenghi or Arno is taking the title in Paris. It was a good ride while it lasted. Revolutionary even.

Scuncan Dott
Reply to  Swim2win
1 year ago

People were saying the same thing before Tokyo, I’m not counting him out yet.

Steve Nolan
Reply to  Swim2win
1 year ago

If I got 33% odds on Peaty, 33% on Martinenghi or Arno, and 33% on “any other human” – I’m taking the field.

JimmySwim
Reply to  Steve Nolan
1 year ago

I don’t know about that…

This year was, by all accounts, a disaster for Peaty. Massive break, multiple breaks, multiple injuries, and he still swam a 58.58.

Martinenghi set a PB of 58.26, only 0.3 better than Peaty’s “disaster”.

Fink set a PB of 58.37, only 0.2 better than Peaty. And Fink is 29 so seems unlikely he’ll improve from here. Strange how swimmers who are years younger than him get suspicion thrown over them for being too old to set a PB, but Fink basically just suddenly became competitive at 28 and no one batted an eye.

Andrew Michael and Kamminga both swam 58.51 and 58.52 this year, basically on par with Peaty.

If Peaty manages to avoid injury… Read more »

Wondering
1 year ago

A little off topic but does anyone know what Adam Peaty’s new knuckle tattoos say?

Admin
Reply to  Wondering
1 year ago

“Ride” and “Fuel”

Bossanova
Reply to  Braden Keith
1 year ago

Cringey tats

Steve Nolan
Reply to  Bossanova
1 year ago

fr fr.

tho chalmers’s chest tattoo REALLY took me by surprise in his interview. it’s…a lot.

Steve Johnson
1 year ago

Four swimmers have won the same event three times in a row (Ledecky, Phelps, Everszegi, and Fraser. However, Phelps won the 200 IM four times. Only four other people have ever won won four Olympics in a row, 2 from track and field, one from sailing, and one from wrestling.

The unoriginal Tim
Reply to  Steve Johnson
1 year ago

Yes. Three golds in a row in the same event is extremely rare in swimming. Only one man and three women.

In this category Phelps very much stands alone with two events with three peats – one of which is also a four peat. In addition a further event with three wins which he had to regain the title something that is incredibly rare in swimming. Excluding the boycotts the only other example I can think of is Ervin.

Last edited 1 year ago by The unoriginal Tim
Sub13
Reply to  The unoriginal Tim
1 year ago

True. It’s interesting that Fraser won the 100 free three times and no other woman has even won it twice.

Joel
Reply to  Sub13
1 year ago

Fingers crossed for McKeon

Sub13
Reply to  Joel
1 year ago

I would love for McKeon to win again but obviously she’s not going to threepeat haha

Steve Johnson
Reply to  The unoriginal Tim
1 year ago

Egerszegi, is also a woman

Reply to  The unoriginal Tim
1 year ago

I maintain that Phelps should have come back and tried for the 200 IM 5-peat in Tokyo

About Riley Overend

Riley is an associate editor interested in the stories taking place outside of the pool just as much as the drama between the lane lines. A 2019 graduate of Boston College, he arrived at SwimSwam in April of 2022 after three years as a sports reporter and sports editor at newspapers …

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