Doing Strictly will push me, I enjoy suffering
PEATY STILL HAS TOE IN POOL
ADAM PEATY, the only British swimmer to defend an Olympic title, has always been box office.
He has never needed sequins and Lycra to make the point. Budgie smugglers and goggles have been enough.
But on Saturday evening he will dress up, swap chlorine for spray tan, swim coach Mel Marshall for dance partner Katya Jones and morning finals in Tokyo for a prime-time TV slot.
And sensing some will wonder if this marks the beginning of the end of his pool days, he dives straight in.
“Strictly is the challenge I need at this time,” he says. “If I want to thrive, I need to take a step back from swimming for a while.
“Strictly will push me out of my comfort zone, allow me to think about whether I do things differently from now on.
“The fairy tale is to win in Paris and then to win in LA – four Olympic gold medals in an individual event.
“But that isn’t just going to happen. As soon as you stop thinking, you get complacent. I need to push myself.”
Peaty admits to being a “showman and an entertainer” but is adamant that the exposure to Strictly will not derail him.
“I enjoy suffering. I enjoy being uncomfortable,” he said. “That’s just who I am and how I’m built.
“I’ve never sweated so much in my life as I am training for this. But working with professional dancers has already given me so many different ideas as to how high-performance can work.”
Until now, Peaty had spent his life being judged only by the clock. Artistic impression was always for gymnasts and divers.
He believes he will cope but knows he is stepping into the unknown. “You’re going to see me DOUBLE ACT: Peaty and dance partner Katya Jones doing some really funky stuff,” he said. “But my aim is to be in Paris in 2024 for swimming, not dancing.
“It will be the first Olympics my son is old enough to see and being there for him would give me an unbelievable adrenaline rush.”
That does not sound like a man done with swimming, and Peaty feels a responsibility to drive up participation numbers and funding.
Britain’s medal haul in Japan was set against a backdrop of more than 300 public pool closures at home.
“We need facilities to open and stay open and be supported,” said the CUPRA ambassador. “We’ve got to convert our Olympic success into something.
“That, for me, is getting more people active. Not just for sport but safety and health and everything that goes with it.
“With our success on the Olympic stage, there are no excuses for the Government.”
● Adam Peaty drives the CUPRA Formentor, the high-performance coupe crossover SUV. Visit www. cupraofficial.co.uk