Adam Peaty wins 100m breaststroke silver at Paris 2024

Swimming 28 Jul 24

Adam Peaty insisted he is still a winner after returning from his lowest point to win 100m breaststroke silver at Paris 2024.

The 29-year-old was on track to become only the second man in history to win three Olympic titles in one swimming event but was narrowly edged out of gold by just 0.02 seconds by Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi.

Peaty was joined on the second step by the USA's Nic Fink who touched the wall in the same time of 59.05.

And after a well-documented challenging few years both in and out of the pool, an emotional Peaty revealled that a sparkling silver still feels like the top of the world.

""It's been a very long way back," he said. "I gave my absolute all there and I executed it as well as I could.

"It doesn't matter what the time says on the board, I know that in my heart I've already won.

"I'm not crying because I've come second, I'm crying because it took so much to get here.

"It's just incredibly hard to win it once and to win it again and again and trying to find new ways to do it.

"Everything I've done to this point has happened for a reason and I'm so happy that I can race the best in the world and still get joint second.

"In my heart I've won and these are happy tears because I said to myself that I would give my absolute best every single day and I have.

"You can't be upset about that."

Peaty made history at Tokyo 2020 when he became the first British swimmer to retain an Olympic title.

But following the delayed Games, the breaststroker struggled to find his love for the sport after a broken foot and an uncharacteristic fourth-place finish at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Now back in a healthy head space and loving his time in the pool, the Paris 2024 silver medallist knows that silver was worth all the sacrifice.

"I'm an older man here now and I can't have that relentless pursuit every single day without sacrifice and that sacrifice can come in many different ways," he said.

"It can come in energy, relationships, it comes in every single form.

"This is what the Olympics are about, they're about who can perform at that moment and I was just one and two per cent out.

"That's a victory for me. It's still six Olympic medals right."

Sportsbeat 2024

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