Peaty '100%' at LA 2028 if 50m breaststroke added

Media caption,

Three-time Olympic swimming champion Peaty talks to BBC Breakfast about LA 2028

  • Published

Three-time Olympic champion Adam Peaty says it would be a "100% yes" to the Los Angeles Games in 2028 if the 50m breaststroke is added as an event.

Peaty, 29, was pipped to gold by 0.02 seconds in the 2024 100m breaststroke Olympic final in Paris, after returning to the sport last autumn following a break because of issues with alcohol and his mental health.

In August, reports said World Aquatics has requested that the 50m breaststroke is added for the next Olympics, external - an event which Peaty, who said he would "take a break", external but still train over the next two years, holds the world record in.

"World Aquatics are potentially putting forward to the Olympic committee about the 50m breaststroke sprint being in the Games," Peaty told BBC Breakfast.

"If that happens it would be 100% yes, I am there - I am not sure when I will find out.

"I'm going to stay fit and I’m going to train for two years, but I’m going to take a break, put other things forward as a priority. I really enjoy public speaking now and motivating people."

The only 50m race at the Olympics is the 50m freestyle.

Peaty, who also holds four of the five fastest times in history in the 50m breaststroke, broke his own world record twice at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest.

His world record time of 25.95 means he remains the only person to break 26 seconds in the event.

Victory at the 2022 Commonwealth Games was Peaty's last major gold medal in the 50m breaststroke, with the Briton having won three straight golds at the World Championships in the event.

In October 2023, Peaty finished third in the event at the World Cup meet in Berlin to mark his return to competitive action for the first time since March 2022.

'I don't define any of that by a medal'

Last year Peaty considered quitting swimming for good, describing his troubles as a "self-destructive spiral".

Those issues came to a head after he broke his foot in 2022, which led to the end of his eight-year unbeaten run in the 100m breaststroke.

His return culminated in winning 100m breaststroke silver in Paris, with Peaty testing positive for Covid-19 a day later.

After failing to replicate American Michael Phelps in winning the same swimming event at three consecutive Olympics, in an emotional poolside interview Peaty said it felt "like I've still won" - a view he maintains.

"I think that was the only race in my career where I don't define any of that by a medal but how I feel and the emotions I felt immediately after," Peaty added.

"There were moments before Tokyo where I would be severely disappointed and define myself by a loss, and I would have went on a spiral.

"Coming back and fighting my way through [my tough moments] shows not only to my boy [George], but any kid, that you can go through a real tough time but can you can get through - if you put your mind to it.

"No matter if I am in the airport or going down to my local shop, people are saying well done, not just well done for winning a silver medal but for showing you being vulnerable after it."

Related topics