On top of the world
Peaty wins third title
So just how exceptional is Adam Peaty? What makes him so good? And where does he now stand among the greats of swimming?
Questions that extended beyond simply the usual positions and times were in the air in Gwangju, South Korea, last night after Peaty followed up his extraordinary world record with a third straight world title in the 100metres breaststroke. His quest for the triple double, and maybe yet another world record, begins today in the 50m breaststroke.
The first of the questions is answered most easily. It is perhaps sufficient to say that there are good judges who now regard him better in his own chosen discipline even than Michael Phelps, the most successful Olympian of all time.
Phelps has admitted that he was happy not to be in the same event following the 2016 Olympics when he described Peaty’s new 100m breaststroke world record of 57.13sec as “one of the grossest swims I’ve ever seen”.
‘Gross’, in this context, can be safely interpreted as high praise and Phelps was equally effusive when he heard about Peaty’s “Project 56” attempt, not just to be the first under 58 seconds, but also 57. “You’re going 56 seconds in breaststroke? Are you kidding me?” Phelps said.
We discovered this week that Peaty absolutely was not joking when he won his semi-final in 56.88sec. He finished yesterday’s final 1.32sec ahead of British teammate James Wilby. To put this into perspective, and just like with his world records, it is a relative level of domination over the next competitor that surpasses even Usain Bolt at his peak.
Peaty now has all of the 15 best times at
100m breaststroke and has been unbeaten in the event at every major international competition for five years.
Two things were especially striking during a rare opportunity to watch Peaty train earlier this month in Japan, before the World Championships. The first was a meticulous and relentless focus on his starts amid a tangible sense within the coaching team that something exceptional was possible. Even in becoming the world’s best breaststroker, Peaty was a relatively poor starter and so working rigorously on this with coach Mel Marshall has been a priority.
To the trained eye, Peaty’s wider breaststroke style is not classical, but eliminates what swimmers call the “dead spot” in the stroke. A fast cadence has prompted indirect comparisons to the similarly ground-breaking Michael Johnson in athletics. After finishing his session in Japan, Peaty made a point of saying his desire to “push the boundaries” meant that he positively needed to do things differently from previous champions.
Marshall had first spotted Peaty at the relatively late age of 14 at the City of Derby Swimming Club and soon became convinced that she had stumbled across a unique talent. When Peaty was still only 17, Marshall told a conference of leading British swimming coaches that she was ready to bet anything that her protege would become the first swimmer under 58 seconds.
Also striking in seeing Peaty up close is the aura and confidence that he carries. Having added 5kg in weight and tattoos that include a lion and various Greek gods since Rio 2016, you can imagine how he must intimidate some of his competitors. Peaty’s mantra before arriving in Gwangju was not that “I want to defend my titles”, but rather “I want to attack my titles”, and he often talks about his legacy. He regards Alexander the Great as one of the most inspiring historical figures, not just because of how much he conquered, but how he reinvented warfare.
One inescapable fact for Peaty is that he is the outstanding performer in a sport with a history of doping. Yesterday, Australian Mack Horton refused to stand on the podium with China’s Sun Yang, who served a three-month suspension in 2014 after a positive test, but was later cleared to compete. Yang is also now the subject of a separate allegation of a missed test, which he denies, that will be considered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Peaty’s stance has been uncompromising – “If I see him [Yang] in Korea, I won’t be moving my shoulders for him, if you know what I mean” – and wants Fina, swimming’s governing body, to impose automatic lifetime bans.
The ultimate focus is, of course, Tokyo next year, where he could become the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title. Still only 24, Peaty also seems likely to know that no breaststroker has ever won three consecutive Olympic golds. Until his triumph yesterday, no breaststroker had won a hat-trick of world titles in either the 50m or 100m.
The most dominant swimmer in the world and arguably Britain’s best sportsman is poised to end his career not being compared to his immediate contemporaries, but simply the all-time record books.