Adam Ramsay-Peaty has admitted he has at times felt like the British public had turned on him. The swimming sensation endured a frustrating Commonwealth Games where he had to settle for two bronze medals and one silver, when he would have been targeting three golds.
Family drama and public perception
All eyes were on the three-time Olympic gold medallist in Glasgow as it was the first time he was competing since his high-profile marriage to Holly Ramsay-Peaty, the daughter of iconic television chef Gordon Ramsay. The Team GB legend has been a regular in the headlines this year, having had a public falling out with his family. The quarrels, which often surfaced in the media, began in the run-up to his wedding with Holly, which ended with his family not attending.
In a recent interview, Ramsay-Peaty admitted he often felt the public's view had soured over the years. Speaking to BBC Breakfast with hosts Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty, he was told that the British public still admires him for all of his achievements. The presenter told him: "Adam, you do know that people really, really like you? Even despite all the noise, people admire you and really like you."
His response and emotions
Peaty then replied: "Well, I appreciate that. Thank you, thank you. Sometimes I don't feel like it, to be honest. But, I guess I'm just me, and I can't really, well, I can change that. I try and be a lot better than I can, or just try and be a little bit better than I was yesterday. If people agree with that, then fine. If people don't, then that's also fine. I don't have to agree with everyone. I just want people to know that I absolutely give my best, best every single day."
Adam secured two bronze medals and one silver at the competition but became visibly upset and voiced his feelings after falling short of gold. Speaking on the BBC programme, he said he knew he was "capable of more". He said: "This week hasn't been ideal in terms of performance, I'm going to be honest, for various reasons. I know I work hard. I know, you know, I put everything on the line, every single day, for my job. And that's what it is, at the end of the day."
Wanting to 'correct' something
Adam expressed a wish to "correct" something, and when Naga's co-host Charlie Stayt asked what he was referring to, he responded: "I don't know. I think, 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. 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."
He continued: "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. But I think, for me, I just want people to know that, you know, I absolutely give my best. I always have a rule of a 24-hour debrief, so if anything's gone well or wrong, 24 hours, that's the maximum amount of time I give myself to kind of get over it."
