After winning 100m breaststroke gold at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, 30-year-old Adam Peaty of Great Britain settled for silver last summer in Paris.
Peaty came down with COVID-19 during the swimming competition but persevered and came just .02 short of gold, hitting a 59.05 to tie for silver while Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi won gold in a 59.03.
In the months following the Games, Peaty has taken time away from the sport, saying he was unsure what future plans would hold for the man who owns the 14th fastest performances ever produced in his signature event.
With the dawn of a new year, it appears Peaty is getting the racing itch once again but turned to a familiar stalwart for advice for his next move.
Peaty talked to the winningest Olympian of all time, American Michael Phelps, last week, telling his superstar peer he is contemplating going for another Olympic Games in 2028 Los Angeles, as he has a nagging feeling he may not be done.
On the High Performance podcast, Peaty said, “I asked him [Phelps], you’ve retired two times, what did it take to bring you back because I’m in a situation now where I’m like, ‘do I got for LA?”
Phelps didn’t mince words, telling the Brit, “forget all the bullsh**….what does your heart tell you?”
Peaty conveyed on the podcast that ‘my heart says that Paris wasn’t enough, I don’t want to end in Paris.’
However, he also said, “But my experience tells me I am done here because of the amount of effort it took to get to Paris alone.
“That silver medal gave me more than gold in that moment ever would have..it brought perspective, happiness.”
Listen to the interview excerpt below where Peaty says, “There’s something coming out of my heart, my soul that Michael Phelps helped me recognize last week.
“I don’t think I’m done.”
We’ll see where recently engaged Peaty goes from here, knowing something will change if he does pursue a third Olympics. His longtime coach Mel Marshall has taken up the head coaching job at Griffith University in Australia, which means Peaty would potentially pursue his dream either in an entirely new country or with a new coach.
