Adam Ramsay-Peaty has said he can “look in the mirror and be at peace with myself” after his bid for gold at the Commonwealth Games ended with a bronze.
The three-time Olympic champion, 31, broke down in tears after he was beaten in the 100m breaststroke in Glasgow by Australia’s Sam Williamson, while Jersey’s Filip Nowacki finished in second.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Ramsay-Peaty said: “I’ve got very tough skin that has been built quite aggressively over these last six months.
“I know what my values are, my morals are. I can look in the mirror and be at peace with myself and the person that I am.
“No matter what way we look at it, it’s two lengths of the swimming baths and we’re trying to do it as fast as we can. My issue is a simple one I can fix.”
Ramsay-Peaty also spoke about the “support circle” around him, citing his “incredible wife” Holly, who is currently pregnant with the couple’s first child.
The swimmer is already the father of his five-year-old son George with his former partner Eirianedd Munro.
He said: “When you have children, they take a lot of work and a lot of energy and you’re gonna miss a lot of sleep, but what an incredible gift, an incredible blessing.
“I don’t want to get lost in just being an athlete, I want to get lost in being a father and being a husband.”
Ramsay-Peaty hit headlines last year after reports of an ongoing family feud with his parents – Mark and Caroline – and they missed his lavish wedding to Holly, who is the daughter of chef Gordon Ramsay.
Caroline Peaty was also absent from Holly’s hen party in the Cotswolds, which was attended by her mother Tana and family friend Victoria Beckham.
The swimmer appeared to address the family feud after his result at the Commonwealth Games, telling TNT Sports: “It’s hard because I know how hard I’ve worked.
“I know the s*** I’ve been through, which is no fault of my own. It does take a toll.”
After Ramsay-Peaty’s comments, his mother posted on Instagram: “There is something or someone at play who wants to destroy our family.
“We continue to support Adam from afar. He’s our son who we love, whom we supported to reach his aspirations.
“Our love, our time, our sacrifices were given freely with no expectation of financial reward just genuinely given with the love as any mother and father would do for their child.
“We are strong, we love and are always there for each other. The very nature of our strength as a family has helped us move past the nastiness, the lies that have been told about us.”
