ADAM Peaty was the first British swimmer to retain an Olympic title.
After taking a break from the sport he qualified for Paris 2024 on April 2 — here's everything you need to know about the breaststroke specialist.
Who is Adam Peaty?
Adam Peaty was born on December 28, 1994, in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire.
He is the youngest of four children and attended Painsley Catholic College and Derby College.
The swimmer trains at the Derby Swimming Club and is mentored by Melanie Marshall, who won six medals at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
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His childhood dream was to be a fighter pilot, but he was too big and tall for the job.
Now measuring 6ft 3in and weighing 13st 5lb, the Olympian is entirely focused on his future in swimming.
In 2016, Peaty said: "I’ve always been interested in speed.
“There’s a lot of education and hard work that goes into being a pilot but I’ve transferred that into swimming and being the best I can be.
“I’m obsessed by self-improvement."
He added: "Your life can change in milliseconds.
“There’s probably another half a second I can take off in my swim. Hopefully we can achieve that.”
After being recognised in the 2017 New Years Honours, he received an MBE from Prince William at Buckingham Palace.
In 2021, Peaty took part in Strictly Come Dancing.
He was paired with Katya Jones and was sixth to be eliminated.
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What medals has British Olympian Adam Peaty won?
Ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Peaty has a total of 43 golds, nine silvers and two bronzes.
At the Rio Olympics in 2016, Peaty romped home for gold in the 100m breaststroke in a brilliant 57.13 seconds.
It was Team GB's first medal of the competition.
Peaty also scooped silver in the 4x100m medley relay with Chris Walker-Hebborn, James Guy and Duncan Scott.
In the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics, held in 2021 due to Covid-19, Peaty became the first Team GB swimmer to defend his Olympic title, scooping gold again in the 100m.
His second gold came in the 4x400m mixed medley relay along with Kathleen Dawson, Guy and Anna Hopkin.
He also picked up silver in the 4x100 men's medley with Luke Greenbank, Guy and Scott, taking his total Olympic haul to three golds and two silvers.
He's also had success at the World Championships.
He became 100m breaststroke World Champ for the first time in 2015.
He successfully defended his title in 2017 with a championship record of 57.47 seconds and won again in 2019.
He is also the triple world champ in the 50 metres breaststroke.
At the 2024 World Championships he picked up bronze in the 100 metres and did not compete in the shorter race.
At the European Chamopions he has won four golds at both distances.
At the Commonwealth Games he didn't win the 50 metres title until Birmingham 2022, picking up silver for England at the previous two outings.
However, he won gold in the 100 metres in 2014 and 2018, but failed to pick up at medal in 2022, finishing fourth.
What happened to Adam Peaty?
Peaty has bravely opened up about his battles with alcohol and depression.
In 2020 the Brit revealed that he turned to alcohol after the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
He told the Daily Mail: "After the Commonwealths, towards the end of the year, I didn’t have any races.
"And when you involve off-season and you involve partying and drinking, that’s a depressant in itself, so I was doing that a lot.
"I kind of, not went off the rails, but I didn’t really have that overwhelming motivation to perform at something.
"And I am a performer, so if I don’t have something to perform at, I completely lose my track.
"Add that in with all that partying and stuff, it wasn’t that great to have that all at once.
"It took a long while to recognise what was important to me and what wasn’t. I have found that thankfully now.
"I know exactly how to treat my body, how to treat my mind, and it’s not by forcing alcohol as much as you can."
He also spoke about mental health in 2021 when he took a break from the sport, saying: "You’ll see people who are falling off, who go all the way through ISL [International Swimming League] and all the way through World Cups and by the time they get to Paris.
"You’re seeing it in all sports now. You’re seeing it with Simone Biles, you’re seeing it with Ben Stokes, mental health matters and it is about getting the balance right at that elite level.
"The amount of time that has been taken away from me with my partner and my boy — he doesn’t know it — but I want to make that time up. I’m going to enjoy it and recover."
Who is Adam Peaty in a relationship with?
Peaty is in a relationship with Gordon Ramsay's daughter Holly.
She is one of Ramsay's five kids that he shares with his wife Tana.
Holly studied fashion design at London's Ravensbourne University but had to leave after her first year after she was admitted to the Nightingale Hospital – where she spent three months as an inpatient.
There, she was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety and depression, and since then she has been in therapy up to three times a week.
She also decided to quit booze and put her mental health first after reaching her "lowest point".
Working as a model and influencer, Holly is signed to EST Models and has 346,000 followers on Instagram.
She has her own podcast called 21 & Over where she talks candidly about her life and struggles with depression.
The chef's daughter previously held a part-time job at clothes store Brandy Melville.
Peaty's ex-girlfriend is Welsh artist Eirianedd Munro.
They met in 2019 while he was training at Loughborough University, where she was also studying at the time.
On August 23, 2022, Peaty announced that he had split from Eiri.
Taking to Instagram, he wrote: "Eiri and I have decided to go our separate ways.
"We have enjoyed a wonderful three years together, 2 of those with our gorgeous son George.
"Our priority has always been to provide the happiest and healthiest home environment for him, and right now that means ending our romantic relationship.
"I could not ask for a greater mother for George and I am so grateful to Eiri for her amazing support over the last three years.
"Eiri and George, I’m sorry for letting you down.
"My only interest is for the well-being of our family at this difficult time so I ask that our privacy is respected and I won’t be saying anything further."
Does Adam Peaty have any children?
Peaty shares one son named George-Anderson Adetola Peaty with his ex Eiri.
Adam announced the safe arrival of their baby boy in September 2020 in a picture captioned: "George-Anderson Adetola Peaty. 11/9/2020. 9lb 1oz.
"I’m so proud of you @eirimunro and I love you both incredibly."
