Olympic champion swimmer Adam Peaty has said he is completely focused on adding to his gold medal haul at the Paris Games as he was awarded an OBE for services to his sport.
Peaty received the honour during a Windsor Castle investiture ceremony hosted by the Princess Royal, and said the award recognised all those who have supported him.
The sportsman became the first British swimmer to retain an Olympic title with a characteristically dominant display in the final of the men’s 100 metres breaststroke, claiming his country’s first gold medal at Tokyo 2020.
Peaty was awarded an MBE in the 2016 New Year Honours list and has been recognised once more following his exploits in Japan, where he took home another gold in the mixed 4x100m medley relay and silver in the men’s equivalent.
Speaking after the investiture ceremony, he said: “It’s 21 months to the Olympics, it’s full focus, it’s a very hard job to keep focused on because it is so tedious, quite monotonous at times and you don’t get the gratification or validation for a long time.
“So for me it’s more about making sure the end objective is that gold medal in Paris and hopefully challenging those world records and having a lot of fun along the way.
“It’s a great journey to be a part of but it also demands everything from you and the people around you, but I mean that’s what these awards are for – it’s not just for me but the people who have supported me along the way.”
The swimmer competed in the popular BBC programme Strictly Come Dancing last year and said about the experience: “It was very hard, very different and very difficult – my brain just doesn’t really work in that way.
“I’m just all go and that is very technical and very fast paced.”
