Commonwealth Games: England's Adam Peaty reaches 50m breaststroke final

Adam Peaty says Tuesday's 50m breaststroke final will be his last Commonwealth Games race after "an incredibly hard time" recently.

The Englishman lost a 100m breaststroke race for the first time since 2014 on Sunday and the following day conceded he had lost a bit of "spark".

He later made it clear he should not be written off, saying: "You back a lion into a corner, they're going to bite.

"I'm backed into a corner now but I'm OK with that."

The 27-year-old said the 100m defeat, where England's James Wilby took gold and Peaty came fourth, had been "a devastating night" and that he had put "way too much expectation" on himself considering he had only been back in the water for four weeks after a broken foot.

"Something has gone missing this last two years," Peaty told BBC Sport. "I just haven't felt the spark and I think sometimes you can get burnout from the sport that you do love."

He explained he would take "a long break" after Tuesday's 50m final at 20:21 BST.

He has never won the Commonwealth title over that distance, but in his post-race interview after Monday's semi-final played down the importance of a gold.

"I'm not bothered about it," he said on BBC TV.

Peaty added that "in the grand scheme of things, it's about two years' time", referring to the 2024 Olympics where he will aim to win the 100m breaststroke title for a third time.

"That's no disrespect," he continued. "I'm still four weeks into my programme [after injury], I can't put too many expectations on myself."

Peaty, who will not be competing in the relay events, later clarified his comments on Twitter, writing: "Sometimes in the heat of the moment, my emotions better me... These championships mean a lot to me, being a home Games.

"It has been an incredibly hard time the past few months but mostly the last few days."

Peaty was only bettered by Australia's Sam Williamson in the 50m breaststroke semi-finals, with Peaty finishing in 27.03 seconds and Williamson winning the other semi-final in 27.01 seconds.

But that mark is over a second short of the 25.95 seconds world record he set in 2017.

He said he would "reset" after Tuesday's final.

"I haven't had a strong winter for two years and it is showing, obviously dancing a little bit," added Peaty, referring to his performance in last year's Strictly Come Dancing show on the BBC, in which he reached week seven.

"You have to get back to the drawing board and go back to basics. It has got very complicated in the last two years but I know what I have to do now.

"It's incredibly difficult to go five years in an Olympic cycle with the pressure of being Olympic champion, and world record holder, while having a baby and moving house.

"So, it's like how do we find our spark again for the next two years into Paris. If we go beyond that, then we go beyond that, but if we don't - happy days."

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Analysis

Two-time Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington on BBC Sport

"It was interesting to hear Adam Peaty talk about the spark because he is such a racer. What else has he got to achieve - what is next?

"If I am winning medals and breaking world records what is that spark? I think that is what he is referring to about what he is missing.

"That comes with not really knowing what the target is. This for him is an opportunity to think: "OK, I am beatable, setbacks can happen."

"He has never even been injured before, he has never had to deal with anything like that. It is important now to have that break and just have that winter training under his belt."

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