The 2024 Summer Olympics is currently being held in Paris. The competition started on 26 July and Team GB, which includes stellar athletes like Molly Caudery, had the chance of winning its first gold medal on Sunday night ( July 28). However they missed it by the slightest. Adam Peaty, a British competitive swimmer specializing in breaststroke events and former Strictly Come Dancing celeb, missed out on his third successive gold medal as he was beaten in the 100m men's breaststroke final by just 0.02 seconds.
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His first two gold medals were won in Rio de Janeiro (2016) and Tokyo (2020).
Adam Peaty wins silver medal in Paris Olympics
According to The Mirror, Peaty would have become the second sportsman after American Michael Phelps to win the same individual event three times in a row had he secured first position. Peaty evidently struggled to hold back tears as he tied for second position with American Nic Fink in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
Seeing him win the silver medal, Rebecca Adlington—former British competitive swimmer specializing in freestyle events—was reduced to tears in the BBC Studio, reports The Independent. Getting emotional after watching him get the silver medal, Adlington said:
You could see there he was genuinely happy with it, you could see they were happy tears. Unlike mine I’m just like so emotional for him.
The silver medal marks a remarkable comeback for the 29-year-old. Unfortunately for the swimmer, he was unable to celebrate as it was announced on 29 July that he tested positive for Covid-19. Team GB announced:
Adam Peaty began feeling unwell on Sunday, ahead of his Men’s 100m Breaststroke final. In the hours after the final, his symptoms became worse and he was tested for COVID early on Monday morning. He tested positive at that point.
The team hopes that he will recover fast enough to participate in other events that are due to take place on 3 and 4 August.
This is a huge setback indeed for the athlete who recently opened up about a series of difficult challenges he had been facing for the past three years.
Adam Peaty’s confession before winning silver medal at Paris Olympics
Earlier this year in April, Peaty described a tortuous period he described as ‘hell’ because of his split from the mother of his son, alcoholism, depression and his path of self-destruction that made him dislike swimming. Making a bold confession, he added that there was a time when he couldn't bear to be near a pool.
His world came crashing down following several events—his split from Eirianedd Munro, a Strictly controversy that invovled rumours of an affair between him and his dance partner, and the end of his impressive eight-year undefeated streak in swimming during the Commonwealth Games, writes Mirror.
After he qualified to compete in the 100m breaststroke at the Paris Olympics in April, Peaty shared:
This is a real win for my team, my family and myself. We have come through the past three years of hell. I didn't want to see a pool again. The sport had broken me.
I didn't know what route to go down and so many things got in my way, but now I am waking up each day and enjoying my job. Who knows what the ending is going to be but I am having fun along the way. It may not end up as a fairytale, but it might.
He also candidly spoke to The Times about his mental health struggles, including depression and alcohol, describing it as having a ‘devil on his shoulder.’ He said:
It’s been an incredibly lonely journey. The devil on my shoulder [says] ‘you’re missing out on life, you’re not good enough, you need a drink, you can’t have what you want, you can’t be happy’.
According to The Guardian, his depression and problems with alcohol increased and worsened when he suffered a food injury in 2022. He explained that he went down a ‘self-destructive spiral’ and added:
I got to a point in my career where I didn’t feel like myself – I didn’t feel happy swimming, I didn’t feel happy racing, my biggest love in the sport. I’ve had my hand hovering over a self-destruct button because if I don’t get the result that I want, I self-destruct.
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Sources Used
Mirror: Adam Peaty breaks down in tears after Olympic gold heartbreak in Paris Games final
The Independent: Rebecca Adlington reduced to tears after Adam Peaty wins silver medal
Mirror: Adam Peaty's 'three years of hell' and mental health struggle in Olympic hero's own words
The Guardian: Adam Peaty on his mental health: ‘I’ve been on a self-destructive spiral’
