Adam Peaty, Britain’s top swimmer, last night raised the daunting prospect that he is set to call time on his glittering Olympic career.
The triple gold medallist said he was too hurt by his experience in Paris, where he returned from Covid to compete in the men’s 4x100m medley last night. He put in a Herculean effort in the second leg but was unable to help his team to success. They finished fourth in a race won by the Chinese, who were under the influence of drugs.
“I think I need to walk away from this sport because it’s hurt me too much this time, really,” Peaty said.
“Tomorrow is never guaranteed, so why worry? If my heart wants it, my heart wants it, and I’ll sign that contract with myself to do it. But that may be a long way off.
Adam Peaty revealed he will ‘step away’ from swimming after missing out on relay medal
Speaking after Team GB finished fourth in the race, he said: “This time it hurt too much.”
After a solid start for Team GB, Peaty showed his class with a fast breaststroke race.
‘It could have been my last swim here.
‘Mel (Marshall, Peaty’s long-time trainer) has an incredible future ahead of her in Australia and the right talent will come her way. I don’t know what the answer is.’
Peaty, 29, has previously spoken of the mental trauma he has suffered in recent years since his swimming crash in Rio.
He turned to drink to escape his demons and struggled to keep a cool head before returning from a break from swimming last year, only to be struck down by illness this week in Paris.
He missed out on gold in the 100-meter breaststroke last Sunday by a hair’s breadth: 0.02 seconds behind an unknown Italian in lane seven, Nicolo Martinenghi.
Peaty tested positive for Covid the following day and has since been on antibiotics. His hearing in his left ear remained poor last night as he swam alongside Oliver Morgan, Scott Duncan and Matt Richards.
Despite this, he put in a strong personal performance, briefly leading Britain to first place before relinquishing it to second place.
However, the Chinese were super-fast (surprise, surprise!) and a closing run by Zhanle Pan in a barely believable time of 45.92 seconds secured them victory. Pan had already set a new world record in the 100m freestyle (in a slow pool) by taking gold by a mile.
Peaty and Team GB just missed out on a medal after being pipped to the bronze by France.
China took gold after a world record-breaking freestyle leg by Pan Zhanle at the end.
That left the United States settling for silver on the final night of swimming at the Paris Olympics.
Peaty was supported by his son George, who was just 11 months old when he won his last gold in Rio three years ago, and was also joined by his girlfriend Holly Ramsay, daughter of Michelin-starred chef Gordon.
The two are set to marry soon. She has given him some relief after he split from George’s mother, Eira Munro.
The spokesman referred to suspicions about Chinese legality. They have sent 11 swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned heart drug, in 2021. The World Anti-Doping Agency accepted that the results were due to the athletes accidentally consuming food contaminated with the substance, known as TMZ, which was found at “very low levels”.
Peaty, a devout Christian, said: “One of my favorite quotes I’ve seen lately is that there’s no point in winning if you don’t win fairly. You know that truth in your heart.
‘If you touch first and cheat, you’re not winning.
“If you have been infected twice, as an honourable person, you should be out of the sport. I don’t want to paint a whole nation or a whole group of people in the same way. But there have been two such cases and it is very unfair.
“I’ve tried to stay out of the conversation so far for the good of the team, but we can use that to our advantage over the next four years, whether I’m there or not. These guys can do it.”
‘The people who need to do the work need to wake up and do it.
‘People have to have faith in the system, and they don’t. The Americans have been very frank. We didn’t want to be distracted by that, but we have to be stricter. It’s not about being on the podium, it has to be fair.
Peaty chats with American swimmer Caeleb Dressel today after what could be his last race for the British team
Peaty suffered a sore throat before winning silver in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
In addition to testing positive for Covid, he has also battled an ear infection.
‘We did our best job as a team and it could have been bronze, could have been, should have been. Who knows. I’m happy that I did my best and that it was fair. I didn’t need anything else. I don’t need anything else.
“For me, as a man of faith, I can be proud of the memories.”
It would be a huge embarrassment for British sport if Peaty were to retire, especially after a third individual gold eluded him.