PEATY YET TO PEAK
Tokyo 2020: Adam Peaty targets more glory in Paris after stunning gold in Japan
ADAM PEATY proved why he has dominated for seven years to win gold again — and promised to go one BETTER in Paris.
Peaty brought home Team GB’s first — and most predicted — gold of the Olympic Games as he burned off the 100metre breaststroke field once more.
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The British superstar clocked an impressive 57.37 seconds, the fifth fastest time in history.
And the 26-year-old from Uttoxeter has now recorded the EIGHTEEN quickest times in the history of the event.
He also became the first-ever Brit swimmer to claim back- to-back Olympic crowns.
And while Peaty talked about his sleepless nights as a dad and the struggles he endured to become Mr Invincible, he has no intention of calling it a day yet.
Peaty revealed: “Once I stop having fun, I’ll stop.
“But I’m still having fun, a lot of fun with my boy and at home and in my normal life, too.
“It’s not just me being a selfish athlete — because we have to be selfish — but we will have that conversation when we get home.
“We are targeting the Paris Games now. Anything after that is a bonus and it’s how young you keep your mind.
'UNFINISHED BUSINESS'
“This has closed a chapter for me, unfinished business, and it was a big relief.
“I’d put it simply — it’s as if you were looking for promotion and had worked your a**e off for five years to get that, and then had to prove yourself in 57 seconds to get it.
“Under that pressure, a lot of people could fold.
“But I have shown, time and again, that I can perform when it matters and get faster through the rounds. That’s what I do.
“I believe that I’ve been given a gift. That’s why, in the last 25m, I can just find something that no one has got.
“And I don’t want this gift to be wasted. No one can take this away from me now.”
Despite the efforts of Dutch runner-up Arno Kamminga, it seems the only real opponent who can deny Peaty a third gold in 2024 will be himself.
The Brit again made an extravagant and polite bow to the home TV audience before leaving his press conference by saying 'thank you' in Japanese.
'STERILE ATMOSPHERE'
And Peaty admitted he has hated the sterile atmosphere of a fan-free Games.
He said: “Comparing here to Rio has been pretty much night and day. Going into 2016, I wouldn’t say it was easy, but it was different.
"You had no fear, you had nothing to lose, just everything to prove.
“But I’m a crowd swimmer. I love the crowd, I love the arena, I was born for the arena.
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“We were told it would be 50 per cent capacity and then, in the final two weeks, they took the fans away again.
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“But I know I have three championships next year — Europeans, Worlds, Commonwealth Games — and then potentially more.”
Also in the pool, Duncan Scott was quickest qualifier for the overnight 200m freestyle final, with Kathleen Dawson a medal contender in the 100m backstroke.
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Team GB gold medal hero Adam Peaty swears twice on live TV after cruising to 100m breaststroke win
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