Triple world champion, triple world record holder, quadruple European champion and a double gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games. If his sport were athletics, tennis or any other discipline with better viewing figures he would surely have won the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award in 2015. But Adam Peaty is a swimmer, Great Britain’s finest, and for now he remains on the fringes of the public’s consciousness.
Come the Rio Olympics this will surely change. On current form, the 21-year-old Peaty is on course for the kind of success that would transform him into a household name in the same vein as his mentor, Rebecca Adlington.
Peaty made a splash at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealths when he beat the seemingly invincible South African Olympic champion Cameron van der Burgh to win gold in the 100m breaststroke. “I can’t believe it, it’s a dream,” said Peaty at the time. “I’ve studied Cameron for a while – he was my idol, and now he’s my rival. It is a major stepping stone for me, and for swimming in the country.”
Peaty also won gold in the 4x100m medley and 50m breaststroke silver. Weeks later he shone at the European championships, winning four gold medals and setting two world records.
In 2015 his rise continued. At the worlds in Kazan, he landed three gold medals, in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, and the 4x100m mixed medley relay. At the start of this Olympic year, he holds the world record in all three disciplines. In Rio his rivalry with Van der Burgh over 100m promises to be one of the most fascinating duels of the Games. All being well, they will clash in the final in the early hours on Monday 8 August.
If Peaty represents the best of British, he is not the only Olympic hope after the aquatic disappointment of London 2012, when Michael Jamieson’s silver was the pick of a measly crop of just three medals.
After the London Games Adlington’s former coach, Bill Furniss, came in, as well as Chris Spice, an Australian with a background in basketball and rugby union. Britain’s swimmers have improved results and performances to the point that the country finished fourth in the medal table at last year’s worlds.
Taking the plunge in Rio will be familiar names such as Fran Halsall and Hannah Miley, alongside medal hopes like Jazz Carlin and James Guy. With Peaty leading the way, there is a growing belief that 2016 could be a prosperous year for Great Britain’s swimmers.
