Men of Influence magazine


What does the man who has won every major swimming title by the age of 21 do next? Quit at the top or carry on in the hope he can maintain that success?

For Peaty, there was no question that he was going to fight on, but with no obvious rivals or up-and-coming challengers to provide motivation, he needed a new challenge.

“I’d achieved everything I ever wanted to and there was a moment when I was getting back into training after the Olympics and thinking, ‘well, what now?'” says Peaty.

He admits to having “disagreements” with Marshall during this time, but his coach knew exactly what to do.

“He’s a lion. You have to put the meat out in front of him so he can hunt,” she says.

“Of course you drop in a 56 as soon as he’s gone 57 seconds – you plant the seeds and then he thinks he came up with the idea.

“To be honest, I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet. Adam still has more to give.”

That is an ominous sign for any breaststroke swimmers hoping to hunt down the reigning Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth champion.

“I know it’s possible,” says Peaty. “I literally just have to go 0.14 seconds quicker.

“It’s such a great motivator, though, and it means I’m pushing harder than ever, sweating more, bleeding more and often in tears of pain.

British Swimming physical performance lead Scott Pollock has been left stunned by Peaty’s efforts in the gym.

“He is probably the hardest-working athlete I have ever worked with,” he tells BBC Sport.

“If I told him to run through a brick wall, he’d probably do it then get up and go again, he’s an incredible specimen.”

Weights are amongst Peaty’s favourite workouts, whilst he has his own ‘jump clap’ and ‘chin-up clap’ routines, which emphasise his colossal upper-body strength and have gone viral on social media in recent months.



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