Gary Lineker has hit back at comments from Piers Morgan regarding Adam Peaty taking a break from swimming.
The three-time Olympic gold medallist has decided to take a short time out to mentally recharge ahead of the 2022 season.
The former Good Morning Britain co-host has never been shy of voicing his opinion and took to Twitter to respond to the news.
He penned: “I love Peaty and he’s a great champion but we do need some perspective about sporting pressure.
“As an ENT doctor in LA once told me during a round of golf when I said he had a big pressure putt: ‘Real pressure is performing emergency tracheotomies on babies.’”
This sparked a response from the ex-footballer who told Morgan sport stars still face immense pressure when they compete and it should not be downplayed.
“I doubt a single sports person would ever compare their job to that of a surgeon operating on babies,” Lineker wrote.
“That doesn’t mean that sportspeople can’t also suffer from depression, anxiety or struggle to handle pressure occasionally, and all done whilst the world watches on.”
The former Britain’s Got Talent judge wasn’t done there as he hit back: “Sure, but handling pressure is surely a pre-requisite of playing elite sport?
“All I am reading about during these Olympics is athletes saying how terrible the pressure is, rather than extolling the virtue of mental strength/resilience. The balance is all wrong.”
The Match of the Day presenter, who knows exactly what it feels like to perform under intense pressure as a former elite sportsman, believes there is no right or wrong way with how athletes choose to deal with their mental health.
“It’s a fascinating and complex subject. Elite sportspeople do have to handle pressure, and perhaps talking about those pressures helps some of them cope better," he added.
“Others will find different ways. Others will have no problems at all. It’s very personal. There’s no right or wrong.”
Piers Morgan has also criticised the men’s high jump stars for sharing the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 56-year-old was not impressed with the decision by Qatar's Mutaz Barshim and Italian Gianmarco Tamberi to share the win yesterday.
Morgan fumed on Twitter : “They should have done the jump-off. It's an Olympic final, not a tea party. Can't 'share' Gold medals.”
