PEATY Adam

General
MENTAL HEALTH
He has spoken about experiencing mental health issues in 2018 and 2019, particularly after the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia, where he finished second in the 50m breaststroke. "The Commonwealth Games was a tough time because I took a loss in the 50m and I am the fastest man on the planet, so why was I losing? That doubt creeped up. I was being moody and pushing people away. I wasn't myself, I wasn't positive and didn't have the right state of mind. I love fast cars and going out with my mates and then I began thinking, 'What's the point?' There was no joy in things any more, which was a warning for me. Alcohol can have a depressing effect and took me to a low place, but I began fixing things one step at a time. I've been to a lot of bad places and very negative places, but all I had to do was keep my eyes on the end of that tunnel. I know a lot of people have struggled with mental health during [the COVID-19] lockdown, but what has helped me is making sure I talk with friends [and] going out in the countryside for walks." (bbc.co.uk, 30 Jun 2020; dailymail.co.uk, 15 May 2020; shropshirestar.com, 16 Apr 2021)

FATHERHOOD
In September 2020 he became a father to son George-Anderson. "It was the greatest moment of my life when I saw him come out. I live and breathe performance except when I'm with my family. It's almost like you have two personalities. You have your performance mindset and your home mindset. 90 per cent of the time it's a performance mindset and it's obsessive. An addiction to that goal of becoming faster and better which is unhealthy sometimes, but a lot of the time it does get the job done. Sometimes I have to ask Eiri [his partner] to go and stay with her parents because I need this part of my life to be extremely focused. The motivation with a child, it's like nothing else, it's unreal." (skysports.com, 21 Oct 2020; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 14 Apr 2021; staffordshire-live.co.uk, 30 Apr 2021)

COACHING
In 2019 he founded Adam Peaty Race Clinics, which offers training sessions for young swimmers at various locations in Great Britain. During the clinics he and other coaches work with the swimmers to improve mental strength as well as their ability in the pool. "The basic headline of sport is to inspire as many people as possible. We're teaching them how to use their mental skills, the mental skills that helped me win the worlds and the Olympics. If I'm training my body to go to gold why am I not training my mind?" He also founded the online coaching platform AP Plus. "AP Plus is a completely new system, designed and built by experts in their respective fields. We have tailored the content specifically to give you access to world-class coaching in all of the areas necessary for developing athletes so that they are equipped to perform at their very best." (plus.aprace.club, 01 Jan 2021; timesandstar.co.uk, 19 Aug 2019; apraceclinics.com, 20 Aug 2019)

GIVING BACK
He has undertaken charity work for the Perfect Day Foundation, and travelled to Zambia at age 17 to support the organisation's work with underprivileged children. He returned to Zambia in 2017 to see how the charity had succeeded in their aims. "This is who I am, I love to give back. When I was first here [Zambia], aged 17, it was a massive learning curve. It was great to get a perspective of the real world and how the real world is. That is especially important when you start winning medals and breaking world records, it can get out of your head a bit. Yes, you do like fast cars and nice clothes, but it is a fine balance. That is equilibrium at the end of the day. It is great to come back here and give back to so many people." (bbc.co.uk, 28 Aug 2017)

WATER FEAR
As a child he had a fear of water. "I was scared of water. I hated going in the shower, hated going in the bath and every time I went to the pool I used to climb up my mum's arms. I hated the pool." (swimv

He became the first British swimmer to win three gold medals at a single world championships, claiming gold in the 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke and 4x100m mixed medley relay at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan, Russian Federation. (SportsDeskOnline, 11 Aug 2018; bbc.com, 25 Jul 2017; theguardian.com, 06 Aug 2015)