It was the morning after the night before as Adam Peaty returned to the pool where hours earlier he had set a world record in the 100m breaststroke at the British Championships. The 20-year-old became the first man to break the 58sec barrier on Friday night with a Beamon-esque record of 57.92sec to add to the 50m world mark from last year’s European Championships.
When he stood on the blocks for the 50m on Saturday morning, the crowd held its breath but there was to be no world record although only Peaty and the Brazilian Felipe França Silva have bettered his time of 27.09 in 2015.
The championships doubled as trials for selection to the British team for the World Championships in Kazan, Russia, this summer where Peaty will contest up to three individual and two relay events.
It concluded a remarkable week for the Uttoxeter swimmer who won all the breaststroke races from 50m to 200m.
The emotion and enormity of his achievement meant he managed just three hours sleep.
“It took a massive emotional chunk out of me. I couldn’t celebrate properly because I didn’t think it was real,” he said. “I tried to come in this morning and do a job and that would have got me into semis at the worlds so job done. If at the worlds I do that kind of performance again it is all about carrying less emotional energy through to the next day.”
While Peaty prepares for his first World Championships, Hannah Miley qualified for her fourth with victory in the 400m individual medley. Miley led from the outset to clock 4min 32.16sec, 1.5sec ahead of Aimee Willmott, the two fastest times in the world this year.
Miley though sounded a note of caution. “It’s all about racing the race you have right there in front of you. I wanted to get that qualifying time and that’s what I did. 4:32 is what I was on leading into London and then I wasn’t able to replicate it. Although it’s all well and good to do that now I’m aware that I can’t celebrate my success right now. It’s about what happens when I get to worlds.”
