Adam Peaty is unsure whether he will be back to his best defense in the 100m breaststroke at the Paris Olympics but is unfazed by the prospect of being underdog in an event he dominated.
The British world record holder, who is on the comeback trail after taking a break last year due to mental health issues, was already looking forward to winning the 100m final qualifying race in Doha on Sunday with a time of 58.60 seconds. Return to the World Championships for a long time. The final will be held on Monday.
The 29-year-old Peaty returned to the pool with mediocre results in three World Cup events in October and is on the road to Paris, where he will seek an unprecedented three consecutive titles after a superb performance. crown. Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
While Monday’s final in Doha will give him an idea of where he stands, he says only time will tell if he can reach his previous heights.
“Who knows? Unfortunately, success, especially in sports, is never a linear graph,” said Peaty, whose world record of 56.88 has stood for more than four years. “With this sport, you never know what’s going to happen in an Olympic year. So I can’t just count myself out or throw myself in. Because we don’t know until the Olympics start.
“Can I ever get back to who I was? Probably not. I feel at peace with that – I’m not just an athlete, I’m a person who wants to get better at this sport, but also I hope to continue to achieve better growth.”
Peaty, who has been open about suffering from depression and alcoholism, suffered mental health issues last year and missed last year’s world championships in Fukuoka due to an absence from competition.
He said the time was well spent and allowed him to re-evaluate his priorities and focus on life outside of sports. In July last year, in the absence of Peaty, Chinese player Qin Haiyang unprecedentedly won the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke championships in Fukuoka, posing a major threat to Peaty’s hope of “three consecutive championships” in Paris.
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Like many other top swimmers, Qin chose to skip Doha, meaning he would forfeit his title. Peaty was beaten by Qin at the World Cup event in October, but the Briton said he was in a “very different position” at the time and still believed he could return to the top.
“Now entering the Olympics again, [it’s] Very, very different.I won’t go in [as] My favorite,” he said. “I haven’t done anything in the last few years – I’m happy with that. I’m now looking for my way back. I believe I have the experience, knowledge and talent to do it.”
