Peaty eager to build a legacy
IN PERFECT homage to the lion tattoo emblazoned on his left shoulder, Adam Peaty’s 2017 has been a roaring success.
But if there was any fear of the multiple world champion swimmer taking his foot off the gas, then those are now firmly quashed. Peaty is a man determined to build a legacy.
Olympic champion before coming into the year, Peaty was the undoubted one to watch in 2017 – a pressure he took to with ease.
For many that pressure would be too much.
But when you’ve got championship and world records to break, it doesn’t matter who is behind you when the finishing line is the only thing that matters.
At the World Championships in Budapest the next step of Peaty’s legacy was set in stone, with 50m and 100m gold and 4x100m medley silver coming the way of a 22-year-old who feels there is more still in the tank.
“Being the man to beat is not something I think about, I just go out there to race and it’s all about humbling myself, keeping myself grounded and thankfully I have a great support unit that helps me do that,” he said.
“I love having people watching me – that’s what drove me home in Rio, knowing that people were watching and knowing they would wake up the next day with me being one of the first victories for Team GB.
“It is what got me to that gold medal, the more people who are watching, the better, and I’m able to deal with that because I love racing.
“Keeping winning is the way you build up that legacy, you show the younger ones that you don’t have to fear the big nations and even though we’re a small country, we’ve got a massive, powerful team.
“Hopefully the next generation of swimmers are going to be thinking that and aren’t scared.
“My aim is to create a culture where we’re going to take on the Australians, take on the South Africans, the Americans, whoever we’re racing and to not have that fear.”
Such is the way he has continued to dominate – not losing an individual race in four years – some of Peaty’s exploits have surprised even the man himself.
That was evident in Hungary when smashing the 26-second barrier in the 50m breaststroke to break the world record for the second time in a day.
But with the team behind him and the strength to up his game when it matters most, few would bet against him doing the business all over again for Team England in next year’s Commonwealth Games.
Before thoughts turn to the Gold Coast, Peaty was unsurprisingly nominated for the Swimming Athlete of the Year sponsored by Tenerife Top Training award in British Swimming’s yearly gongs.
And having lifted the title last year, the 22-year-old is humbled to be on the shortlist once again for a night that he is already looking forward to.
“To be nominated is very good. There are a few really good guys in there but to win it again would be really good,” he continued.
“I love going to awards evenings, it’s something different where I’m not slogging it in a pool all day – it’s nice to break it up and celebrate what we’ve done as a team.
“To win it again would be the team effort, I wouldn’t have gone under 26 seconds if it wasn’t for all of them and the public who were so behind me in Budapest.
“I think I’ve achieved those targets, I never thought I would get to 25.9 seconds on the 50m breaststroke – nobody did and I shocked a lot of people there.
“To come away with that would be pretty cool. Without that spiderweb of people, you can’t stitch together those two performances that help you out over a year.”
• The 2017 British Swimming Awards celebrate the achievements of athletes from across the aquatics disciplines. Athletes benefit from the support of TYR, the official kit supplier – a company committed to cultivating a culture of greatness, both in and out of the water. Visit - www.tyr.com