We’re used to seeing British breaststroker Adam Peaty break records and stand atop podiums when it comes to racing in the swimming pool. But the man recently took on a competitive challenge of another type, steering his way through the curves of a race track.
In the build-up to this summer’s Olympic Games, 26-year-old Peaty has been announced as the new brand ambassador for performance car manufacturer CUPRA. Part of the Volkswagen Group, CUPRA develops high-performance versions of road cars and competes on the tour and rally car circuits.
For Peaty’s challenge, the new dad raced several heats of the Oulton Park Circuit in a CUPRA Formentor Performance SUV, striving to better his timed result with each outing. He knocked it down from 1:32.40 at the onset to 1:24.90 in the final, mimicking the prowess he puts on display in his typical aquatic domain.
Of the parallelling experience, Peaty said, “Every single season I say to myself, what can I do better, how can I get faster, and I take it down to analyzing every single stroke. It really just comes down to me being competitive, it’s not really about racing anyone else, it’s about racing myself, what’s the best version of myself and how can I get faster, and ultimately you want to break world records, so that’s the ultimate goal.
No world records today, but I debriefed myself after every lap and took the same approach as I would in the pool.”
Peaty recently took the British title in his signature 100m breaststroke at the nation’s Oympic Trials, with his result there in London now rendering him the owner of the top 20 fastest performances all-time in the event.
Stupid decision for him, good for his competition.
@Retta Race: “…mimicking the prowess he puts on display in his typical aquatic domain” — what an elegant phrase.
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I now know that when I grow up — I want to be Adam Peaty
I want a baby as cute as his
i want a baby as cute as mel
(also, baby and cute in one sentence is obv a contradiction but we)
anyone else think this was maybe a late April fools joke just after reading the title?
Just you
Lewis Hamilton is shaking in his racing boots
is it weird for me to think, shouldn’t he not risk injury doing this right before the olympics?
Why hasn’t he been put in bubble wrap? That’s what I think.
Not weird at all. We all remember Caeleb’s motorcycle incident.
I reckon he could crash a motorcycle full Caeleb and still win
Kamminga just went 57.9
I think everyone… at least everyone who’s ever coached swimming at whatever level… thought EXACTLY that. I know I did.
Probably a higher risk of being injured driving to practice than by himself on a track. Maybe he should just live at the pool so he doesn’t have to drive at all! And sleep in the pool so he doesn’t risk a slip on the pool deck!