Naga Munchetty told Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty during a BBC Breakfast interview that 'people really, really like you' after he discussed his disappointment over not winning gold at the Commonwealth Games.
Peaty's Disappointment
Peaty, who is married to Holly Ramsay, daughter of chef Gordon Ramsay, won two bronze medals and one silver at the event but was emotional and spoke out after missing out on gold. He appeared on the show on Thursday and confessed: 'Sometimes I don't feel like it' when Naga said people like him.
He said: 'I guess I've got to see it both ways, as an athlete and a human, I guess. You know, this is my first championships in two years, so I've got to be pretty happy with the medal haul, but also I know that I am capable of more, in a sense.'
'This week hasn't been ideal in terms of performance, I'm going to be honest, for various reasons,' he added.
Emotional Honesty in Sport
Peaty said he wanted to 'correct' something but added: 'I think no matter what I say, it'll be interpreted how it wants to be interpreted, right? I've got no control over that. All I can get control over is, obviously, the passion I have, the energy I have.'
He continued: 'But also, I've got to show my disappointment, because I don't believe my performances were good enough. This is not what I worked for. And let's just be honest, that is sport. And I think we need more of that, more of that real emotion in this world.'
Referring to media coverage, he said: 'The stuff I've seen over this last few weeks, or, you know, even the last few days in the media, I'm like, OK, I didn't really say that, but it is what it is.'
Naga's Support
As the interview wrapped up, Naga said to co-host Charlie Stayt: 'I do like him. You can't not like Adam Ramsay-Peaty.'
Peaty also spoke of his 'incredible' wife, who is expecting their baby, and said he was 'trying to be the best husband, the best father, the best athlete I can be.'
BBC Breakfast airs from 6am on BBC One.
