Adam Ramsay-Peaty has revealed that his sole motivation for continuing to compete is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The English swimming star picked up two bronze medals at this year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Bronze in the 100m breaststroke
Ramsay-Peaty claimed his first medal in Saturday's 100m breaststroke and gave an emotional television interview afterwards in which he was in tears.
He then went on to add a second third-place finish in the 50m breaststroke on Tuesday evening. The 31-year-old touched the wall in 26.94, just 0.44 seconds behind Australian winner Sam Williamson, who backed up his 100m triumph to complete a remarkable double in the Scottish city.
Michael Houlie took silver, with Ramsay-Peaty edged into third by a mere 0.01 of a second. The Uttoxeter-born swimmer entered the race as defending champion, having claimed gold four years ago in Birmingham. The England athlete whipped up the crowd during his walk-in, yet was unable to translate that energy into a podium-topping performance.
Candid interview
Following his bronze medal in the short-distance event, Ramsay-Peaty gave a candid interview to TNT Sports. He said: "Sometimes in that event the harder you try the slower you go. I am learning from this experience as a whole. I think for me it's just getting back to the enjoyment of racing. I made a few errors...you need to be race polished and I am not. I am not going to be too hard on myself...I am a different man from 12 years ago...I have a six-year old and daughter on way [so that puts it] all in perspective."
He added: "I think my whole career has been ups and downs. First two thirds were very good then I lost way and purpose. The only reason I am here now is to give myself best shot into LA [Olympics] I obviously have a lot to work on."
Regarding what the build-up to LA might entail, he said: "I don't know - I don't know what tomorrow looks like. [I will take] lot of learning [from this]. I felt off and I don't know why, I am slow in the final, I don't know why, I don't know what two years looks like."
Challenging times
It has been a challenging time for Ramsay-Peaty following a dramatic falling out with his family before he married Holly Ramsay - the daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay - last December. The three-time Olympic champion also previously stepped away from swimming during a period of mental health struggles in 2023. He was then agonisingly denied Olympic gold in Paris two years ago as he attempted to become the first swimmer to claim the men's 100m breaststroke crown at three successive Games.
Frustration and perspective
Speaking to BBC Sport following the 100m race, he struggled to hide his frustration. He said: "They are not even sacrifices; they are choices. It's like getting knocked out in the group stages in the World Cup for a very good team. You know you're better and it hurts because you know you have to wait for a very long time for the next championships."
"This is probably - realistically - my last Commonwealth Games and I thought I'd trained for better. I could do better. I've been faster this season. That's where the frustration is."
