Olympics
Adam Peaty: “I’ll Find a Way to Win Again” – Olympic Champion Eyes History at Los Angeles 2028
Swimming sensation Adam Peaty has nothing to prove in the pool, but Great Britain’s Olympic medal-winning star is targeting making history at Los Angeles 2028.
Adam Peaty//Getty images
Never shy of a challenge, GB’s brilliant breaststroker has won everything there is to win in the sport.
Three Olympic gold medals and one silver are the highlights of a stellar career.
Not to mention the small matter of being an eight-time world champion, a 17-time European title-winner and a four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
A Legacy of Gold and Glory
Peaty knows how to win – and he’s done it with stunning regularity during a distinguished career.
“You can’t replicate that buzz, but at the same you don’t need sport at that elite level to fulfill that gap of adrenalin, to feel that rush,” Peaty told SportsBoom.com.
“A lot of athletes really struggle with that. I’m just very grateful that I’ve got that mindset, whether it’s in or out of sport, I’ll be successful.”
Of course it’s going to be tough (to do it all over again), but I’ve had this mindset over my whole career that I just want to help people and find that win.
Adam Peaty
“I probably wouldn’t train in this country any more, it’s just too samey for me now. As humans we’ve got to continually learn and be in different environments to really be successful.”
“For me I want to continue learning and had a different strategy [to trying to win another Olympic medal]. I’ve got to change the formula if I want to do it.”
“I always use an analogy from Batman, when Bane breaks his back – that is what sport will do to you.”
“It will break you and almost make you a shell of yourself, but that purpose and drive has to be greater than that break because, as soon as you start to think it’s not worth or or ask yourself ‘can I do this?’, you’ve already lost.”
“I need to make sure I’m fully rested, fully calculated and made that contract with myself to do it.”
The Mindset of a Champion
Peaty won his first Olympic gold medal with a stunning world record swim at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the first by a British made swimmer in 24 years.
At 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 – delayed because of the Covid pandemic, Peaty dazzled again as he became the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title.
He won Britain’s first gold medal in Japan and added a second gold alongside James Guy, Kathleen Dawson and Anna Hopkin by winning the 4 x 100m medley relay.
In Paris this summer even catching Covid couldn’t prevent Peaty from winning a 100m silver medal, although he only missed out on a record fourth Olympic gold by a fraction of a second – 0.02 to be exact.
“I’ve reached out to a few athletes who have retired over the last few years,” reflected Peaty.
“I had dinner with (five-time Olympic diving medallist) Tom Daley the other day when we were out in Los Angeles and, having his point of view for example, was very healthy for us both.”
“I think there definitely needs to be a platform for those athletes who are transitioning, whether that’s another four years of transitioning for another Olympics, or setting up that mindset.”
Transitioning and Growing Beyond Sport
“I’ve just completely taken myself away from swimming recently to just decompress.”
“It’s the first time in my life I’ve had energy to do stuff.”
“It (competing at this level) just breaks you, so understanding who I am outside of sport is very important.”
“For the next year or two I’ll dip in and out of swimming, but I’ll also enjoy my life.”
Performance looks like a triangle – you have you mentality, your soul and spiritual side, as well the physical. You need all three to truly give your best performance.
Adam Peaty
“You grow up on certain decisions, but I’ll always be a big kid in my head.”
“I like to have a lot of fun, in life you have to be happy. I try not to take life too seriously because you never know when the journey is going to be over.”
“I’m trying every single day to find a way to be happy, but also have that and give that advice to your children as well.”
*Adam Peaty is an athlete for the British performance brand Castore - castore.com
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.