\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.eldigitaldeasturias.com\/noticias\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/ground.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLondon (PA Media\/dpa) \u2013 Relief poured out of Adam Peaty after he became the first British swimmer to win consecutive Olympic titles with a characteristically dominant display in the final of the men\u2019s 100 metres breaststroke.
\n<\/p>\n
While he was unable to break his own world record of 56.88 seconds on Monday, the 26-year-old from Uttoxeter stormed to Team GB\u2019s first gold of Tokyo 2020 by clocking 57.37, the fifth fastest time in the event\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
His supremacy therefore remains unchallenged with closest challenger Arno Kamminga, the only swimmer other than Peaty to breach the 58-second barrier, finishing a distant 0.63 seconds behind.<\/p>\n
Peaty\u2019s coronation has seemed inevitable as not only is his personal best almost a second quicker than anyone else who has ever competed over the distance but he is unbeaten in major competitions in seven years.<\/p>\n
But Peaty, who swore twice on the BBC in an emotional poolside interview in the moments after writing his name into the history books, admitted the past year, which has included becoming a first-time father, has had its upheavals.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cIt\u2019s been a heavy investment. A lot has changed this last year, more than the last five. Becoming a father, buying my first house and some days when I woke up and was like \u2018this is hard, this is really hard\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been so many challenges, so many challenges and fucking some breakdowns as well. It\u2019s like \u2018what am I doing every single day? Why am I training three times a day, giving it everything for this swim?\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve hidden a lot of emotion from my own family, I\u2019ve hidden a lot of stress and a lot of those moments where I was like \u2018this is very, very hard\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like going for a promotion and trying to prove yourself every five years in 56-57 seconds, it\u2019s like to trying to prove what you\u2019re worth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think people back home would understand the amount of investment which has been put into this swim. For a lot of people they could lose it just in that last moment. For me that amount of investment has paid off.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of emotion, I\u2019m probably not going to sleep for a while now, I\u2019m so buzzed because that was the first British swimmer to ever defend a title. You can do what you want all year round; in your own arena, in your own backyard, it doesn\u2019t mean anything, it means everything here.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 99.9 per cent of time that we spend in the dark is for the 0.01 per cent we spend in light.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s something me and (coach) Mel (Marshall) have always believed in. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t think anyone deserves it more than me and that\u2019s not an arrogant thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nicolo Martinenghi collected bronze in a time of 58.33s as Britain\u2019s James Wilby missed out on a podium position, settling for fifth as he clocked 58.96s, in a race where Peaty showed his enduring class from the off.<\/p>\n
Asked whether he was disappointed he did not lower the benchmark over the discipline he has mastered for much of the last decade, Peaty responded: \u201cNo, I don\u2019t give a shit about the time! No one thinks about times.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, it would have been amazing to finish on a world record but it\u2019s not about that and Mel said this morning \u2018it isn\u2019t about the time, it\u2019s about the race\u2019 and no one races better than me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peaty \u2013 who brought a gold medallion with him to the Japanese capital which reminds him of his son, George, who was born last September \u2013 read a letter his partner, Eiri, wrote the night before his historic gold medal.<\/p>\n
Peaty, who could win a second medal in the 4x100m medley relay later this week, added: \u201cThe letter goes \u2018this is what it\u2019s about\u2019. I\u2019ve had some messages from home but I only choose to read a few because that\u2019s all I need.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s that film, The Last Samurai: too much mind, too much mind. All you\u2019ve got to do is be present, be in the moment and enjoy it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t even have to think about the stroke, that takes care of itself, so I\u2019m glad I can go home with at least one gold medal.\u201d<\/p>\n
By David Charlesworth, PA,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
London (PA Media\/dpa) \u2013 Relief poured out of Adam Peaty after he became the first British swimmer to win consecutive Olympic titles with a characteristically dominant display in the final of the men\u2019s 100 metres breaststroke. While he was unable to break his own world record of 56.88 seconds on Monday, the 26-year-old from Uttoxeter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1096182,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1096192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actualidad"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t