PEATY MUSCLES IN ON ANOTHER GOLD
Now can Peaty take Phelps’s crown?
SITTING on the lane divider, British swimming sensation Adam Peaty removed his goggles and squinted at the time.
He had begun to raise his fists in celebration, then thumped them into the water in frustration, puffing his cheeks out: Peaty had come in first place, but it was only the second fastest time for the 50 metres breaststroke in history, and only the second time a human being had swum it sub- 26 seconds.
His 25.99 secs earned him a second gold in three days — following his 100m breaststroke win on Monday — to match his feat from Russia 2015 and making him the most successful British athlete at World Championships ever. He overtakes David Wilkie’s three golds in individual events from the 1970s. Including the 4x100m men’s medley gold also won in 2015, Peaty has five in total.
He was half-a-second faster than the rest of the field last night.
Once that had sunk in, the hands went up, showing off those Adonisesque biceps, but these days only world records will completely suffice for this phenomenon of the pool.
On Tuesday, Peaty warmed up in the morning heats with a world record, 26.10, and went one better in the evening semi-finals with another of 25.95 to create history. Now he is shrouded in an aura — like Usain Bolt at his peak — where spectators eagerly anticipate each time he competes.
‘I know there’s more in that 50, I don’t want to spoil it for next year or the year after,’ said Peaty, with nonchalant self-confidence.
‘I feel very good, but it’s exhausting coming in and coming out, switching on and switching off.’
Equally, a true sign of genius in sport is when competitors rede- fine the landscape of their field and at only 22, Peaty has revolutionised breaststroke technique.
Mark Foster, one of Britain’s most successful swimmers, described it as like swimming through a tube, stream-lining the stroke. A view shared by Rebecca Adlington. ‘A lot of people associate the breaststroke with being slow,’ said the Olympic gold medal winner. ‘Adam has totally changed it. It’s pure speed, pure power. No-one is even close to him.’
South African rival Cameron van der Burgh, the only swimmer other than Peaty to feature in the top 10 times for the 50m breaststroke (Peaty has eight of them), won bronze and said: ‘It’s really impressive. It’s not even breaststroke any more, he’s swimming like a new kind of stroke, like a metamorphosis between butterfly and breast.’
The 29-year-old added: ‘I think I have to retire and give it a few years and come back when he’s older.’
But even age is on Peaty’s side. Put into context of the greatest swimmer ever, Michael Phelps was winning Olympic golds at 31 and one wonders what more is to come from the Brit. The world is at his flipper-like feet. Even so, Peaty is described as humble and likeable by his peers, in whom he inspires much confidence.
And such is his demeanour that he apologised for being unable to speak on camera following his 50m success, due to racing in the mixed 4x100m medley relay less than an hour later yesterday evening. Peaty, alongside James Guy, Georgia Davies and Siobhan O’Connor, was unable to increase his medal tally. The team came fifth, narrowly missing out on the podium even though two of them had struggled with illness in the buildup. ‘I’m so proud of these guys, I couldn’t have asked for more,’ Peaty said. ‘It’s the first year of a four-year cycle. Coming to Tokyo (the Olympics in 2020) it’s going to be our event.’
Peaty will compete in the 4x100m men’s medley relay this weekend. He was part of the team who won gold at the last World Championships two years ago.
There could be more medals to come in a few days, and many, many more in the future.