In the summer of 2012, Adam Peaty had his lightbulb moment. He was a talented 17-year-old club swimmer at the time, and he was getting ready for a night out with friends when he saw one of his junior breaststroke rivals, Craig Benson, qualify for the semi-finals of the London Olympics on TV.
Peaty wanted what Benson had and it lit a fire. The nights out stopped and an obsession began. His theory was simple: if he pushed his body to its outer limits, and then pushed further, no rival could possibly do more. He would eventually beat them in front of thousands of spectators and millions more on TV, but really he had beaten them in the training pool at 6am when he swam until his muscles screamed, and in the two-hour gym sessions that left his limbs numb.
