Adam Peaty to skip UK swimming championships to focus on mental health ahead of Paris Olympics
Olympic Riple breaststroke champion Adam Peaty has said he will miss the British Swimming Championships next week as he focuses on his mental health ahead of the Paris 2024 Games.
The 28-year-old spoke in an Instagram post about his personal battles and the pressures that came with success. He said he was tired and he didn’t like sports as much as he used to.
“Everyone wants to sit in your place until they have to sit in your place…very few people understand what victory and success do to a person’s sanity. individual,” he said.
“They don’t understand the pressures these individuals put on themselves to win again and again.
“As some people may know, I’ve had mental health issues over the past few years and I think it’s important to be honest about it. I’m tired, I’m not me- even and I don’t enjoy the sport like I have for the past decade.
Peaty won gold in the 100m at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016 and repeated the feat at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, also winning gold in the 4x100m mixed medley. His success in Tokyo made him the first British swimmer to retain an Olympic title.
The eight-time world champion failed to medal in the 100m at last year’s Commonealth Games, coming back from a foot injury to finish fourth after going unbeaten for eight years.
Peaty also missed last year’s world and European championships.
“Some might recognize it as exhaustion; I just know that over the past few years I haven’t had the answers I was looking for,” he said Wednesday. “With help, I now know how I can fix the imbalance in my life.
“While I continue to train, I have decided to withdraw from the UK Swimming Championships next month. This is for the sole purpose of putting in the best possible performance in Paris at the 2024 Olympics.”
British Swimming said Peaty will continue to work with longtime coach Mel Marshall as part of his recovery process.
Additional Reuters reporting.
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