Adam Peaty has dared world swimming to ban him from the sport after he backed plans for a new International Swimming League (ISL).
The new event, which is widely popular with top-level swimmers, was due to take place in Italy this month but was pulled after the sport’s governing body, Fina, threatened to prevent participants from competing in next year’s World Championships in Qatar.
“I don’t care, ban me if you’ve got to,” the 23-year-old Olympic, world, Commonwealth and European champion told the BBC. “I’m not bothered because at the end of the day they know they can’t.””They can’t get away with it because you’ll lose all of the respect from the athletes and you can’t bully them.”
Fina has attempted to launch its own replacement event, known as the Champions Swim Series, but a dispute has developed over the proposed £4m prize money, less than half the proposed £10m prize fun attached to the ISL.
“£4m in prize money is nothing in terms of what they’ll make off that league – they’ll make much more. We need transparency and 50-50 split of the profits.
“I love my sport to the moon and back but the main reason people quit swimming all over the world is because there isn’t enough funding. I want to secure the future for the kids who are going to be winning Olympics in 20 years and hopefully making a living out of it.”
Some of the world’s leading swimmers met in London this week to discuss plans for an ISL next year, and to establish a swimmer’s union independent from Fina.
