Pride key to Peaty gold rush
ADAM PEATY said the desire to make his family and country “proud” drove him to World Championship gold medal glory.
The 22-year-old retained his 100metre breaststroke title with a dominant performance in Budapest.
Peaty finished in a championship record of 57.47sec, more than a body-length ahead of silver medallist Kevin Cordes, in 58.79sec.
The Uttoxeter star was ahead of the field from the start, and was 0.11sec under world-record pace at the halfway turn. However, the pace was too hot and he tired in the closing stages.
Although going under 57 seconds still eludes Peaty, he was delighted to take the gold.
“It’s great to be out there and race the best in the world,” he said. “I went out there with a lot of guts.
“If you want to go 56 seconds, you’re going to have to do stuff you’ve never done before.”
Peaty revealed he had extra motivation in the stands last night with his nan and mum both cheering him on.
“My nan’s come all the way out here and my mum’s come out here, so I want to make them proud,” Peaty added.
“I say to myself, ‘Come on, let’s do it for the family’. I like to make my family and my country proud.”
Nan Mavis told Mirror Sport: “It was a fantastic race. He’s off to Zambia now, so in September or October we’ll all celebrate.
“He’ll do the world record when he’s ready.”
Barely an hour later, there was a second gold for Britain, after Ben Proud won his maiden global title in the 50m butterfly.