Adam Peaty has doubled down on his family feud comments as he discussed how he deals with the tough times. The swimmer will take part in the 50m breaststroke final this evening, after qualifying over the weekend. His appearance at the Commonwealth Games hit the headlines when he did a teary interview where he spoke about the feud between him and his parents taking a toll on his career.
Support system and battle plan
Adam has spoken out about how he prepares for big races, revealing he relies on his wife and coach and best mates, failing to mention his mum and dad, who were regular supporters by his side through his swimming dream. Speaking about his 'battle plan' ahead of the next race, he said, according to the Telegraph: "There’s a lot of people I talk to, obviously my wife, my coach, my best mate Ed. Friends and team-mates."
"For me, the best way to ever get anything out of my head is to write it out. I write down what’s going wrong, what’s going right, what can I change, what can’t I change? Then I have a battle plan and [I say] ‘OK, I can work with this.’ So now I’m thinking what’s part of that battle plan? How can I use it for the final tomorrow?"
Tension and mental health
Adam says he finds every race tense, having taken a break from the competitive side of the sport a few years back amid a struggle with his mental health and burnout. "It’s always tense. I think just going through the rounds, really. Every time I race, I am getting that little bit stronger. I didn’t yesterday, which was unfortunate. People forget I haven’t done this for two years. I even forget that," he shared.
"To go through heats, semis, finals is quite difficult. I’m not used to it, which I’m not, even if in my whole career I’ve been used to it. From that perspective, it’s a good thing to handle and tomorrow I tell you what, I’m just going to enjoy the crowd."
Future ambitions
Adam has vowed that the next two years will be the "hardest climb" for him as he aims for a fourth Olympics. He explained: "It’s really hard to see the summit because it’s so hard. I don’t think anyone understands."
Adam previously said he wasn't worried about sharing emotions, insisting that makes him the best father and husband. "My wife is always going to be proud of me. As a father, it doesn’t matter if you come home with a gold – as long as you come home with a teddy, which I did. The emotion is something I’m always going to carry. I’m never going to be afraid to show weakness," he said.
"Because it’s so important for making stronger people, making stronger men, stronger fathers, husbands. I can’t really put in where it went wrong. Maybe it’s just an off-swim. Or maybe it’s just because I’ve been two years out of the championship heats and semi-finals. But it does hurt."
