Adam Peaty 'enjoying being the underdog' as he heads in to Paris 2024

With the Paris 2024 Olympic Games about to get underway, we’re taking a closer look at some of our aquatics athletes who are representing Team GB in the French capital this summer.

Adam Peaty comes into his third Olympic Games looking to add to his ever growing list of accolades.

He’s already done what no British person has ever done before in the pool when he retained his 100m Breaststroke title at Tokyo 2020 and now is on the hunt for a historic three-peat in Paris.

After being asked how he’s planning to approach the race in Paris, he joked: “Well, peaceful down the first 50, anger on the last 50”.

Before adding: “I think it’s very hard to pre-empt what the mindset’s going to have to be. That’s why we prepare for a thousand scenarios to use one.

“So in the race, hopefully we qualify in a good lane in heats and we get to the semi-final and what not. Let’s presume we’re in the final, we’ve got a good lane – that mindset is going to have to be so particular to deal with the opponents.

“They’re going to do what they’re going to do, I can’t control that. But to get the best out of myself, it’s going to have to be peaceful. But I’m also going to have to be an athlete that I’ve probably not ever been, because we have to learn and grow every single Games.

“The sport changes, the way it’s approached changes, the way it’s perceived changes and the way we perform has to change too.

“My preparation is preparing me for almost anything. I’ve been in races where I’ve been behind at 50 meters almost by a body length like Kazan 2015.

“I’ve been in races where I’ve been ahead. I’ve been in races where I’ve come up half a body length behind at 15 meters.

“So there isn’t a scenario that I haven’t been in, which gives me great confidence, but also great belief in myself. But my training right now gives me great belief in the process.

“I’m working with some really good people and whatever the result is on the scoreboard I want to look back on that experience and say ‘I gave it my best shot’.

“Because for me, I wouldn’t ever regret giving my best shot and I’m giving it my best shot every single day, but I would regret not even trying.”

‘I’m really looking forward to Paris’

Peaty has been very open about his challenges with mental health, taking an extended break from the sport after Birmingham 2022 and returning towards the end of last year to start preparing for Paris.

The world-record holder admitted that he could’ve retired but knew there was something in the back of his mind knowing that he could go for gold in Paris.

Now though, it’s not about the success, it’s about finding that balance between the sport and life.

He said: “I could’ve stopped 14 months ago and watched all of these athletes, great people, great staff, great coaches, all go through this experience. And I’d have been watching from afar knowing that in the back of my mind, I could have given it a shot.

“It’s not necessarily about winning in terms of medals, gold medals or records. Of course it is, but we don’t kind of validate or gratify ourselves through that. There’s something more to this, especially this year.

“And I’m really looking forward to Paris. I’m in a place where I put a really good qualifying time down and I’m just really excited.

“It’s been an enjoyable journey. I think it’s about balance, you’ve always got to have that enjoyment and I’m definitely enjoying it.”

‘I enjoy being an underdog’

Heading into Paris, the Uttoxeter-born swimmer, who was a part of the Diploma in Sporting Excellence Programme (DiSE), is up against a number of challengers for his Olympic crown.

China’s Qin Haiyang became the new world record holder in the 200m event at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships last year, where he took all three of the Breaststroke titles in Peaty’s absence.

He’s just one of a number of quick swimmers from across the globe who are targeting the gold, with the pair only recently coming head-to-head on Peaty’s return at the World Cup events at the end of 2023.

These challenges, however, have given Peaty a fresh look at the sport, as he enjoys the chase of getting back to the top.

“Going into these Games, I’ve enjoyed being the person with the bow and arrow and not the one being fired at.

“It gives you a different approach to it, there’s no pressure really on me. Yes, you know, I’m an Olympic champion and people are going for that crown.

“Anyone that follows a sport and I’m sure people or the commentators or the people who are getting that back home who know my situation are aware that I haven’t really raced, I haven’t really won anything since 2022 or 2021.

“But I’m okay with that, because I’ve been the underdog before and I enjoy being an underdog. I enjoy fighting my way through the rounds and what I’m grateful for is that it’s showed me how to lose with grace.

“Before, if I lost, I’d be like tearing everything off. I didn’t like it. I’ve been like that since I was a kid. But now I think 29-years-old, I think we can say I’ve learned how to lose and you know, it does suck because I know how much I invest in myself, how much I train and the whole team – Team GB and Aquatics GB – how much we put together and how much effort is in that.

“So we don’t lose the ferocity but we have to bear in mind that you’ve got to lose sometimes to get those wins.

“I obviously raced him [Qin] in all of the World Cup stops. He’s very good, but my speed was only just behind and that was at the start of the season.

“I know that as soon as I put on this jacket, I’m a very patriotic person.

“I love my country and I like performing and I like to show people that it’s okay to have a bad month or a bad swim or a bad year or a bad segment of your life, that you can turn the boat around no matter how big or daunting that task is.

“That’s the journey I’m on now and I’m enjoying it.

“We talk about Qin, we talk about Nic (Fink), all these people that could potentially win. I could potentially win, but whatever happens I still see myself in a few months’ time, very happy. That’s because of the people I have in my life and the values I live by.”