Olympic champion Adam Peaty has revealed he is considering swimming in yet another event at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham - the 200 metre breaststroke.
Peaty will already compete in the 50 metre and 100 metre breaststroke - two distances in which he already holds the Olympic and world record.
However, the Englishman has revealed he feels he is now ready to step up to an even further mark at 200m, as he eyes up more gold medal glory in the pool.
Peaty plans to give the 200m swim a go in Sheffield at April’s trials for the Games, and if successful would then compete in an impressive five events in Birmingham this summer - including the men's and mixed medley relays.
Speaking about his plans for the year after being named among the swimmers in Team England's squad, the Olympic champion was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying “I'm going to probably swim the 200m at trials, just to see how it goes.
“That will be like an expedition race. I've no idea what time I will do. I've not done the 200m at trials since 2016 when I went out in 59 seconds and came back in a coffin!”
Ahead of the step up in distance, the Englishman went on to reveal that he is wary of the high standard his Australian rivals present at longer distances, but believes now is the right time to push his boundaries after a hugely successful Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
He continued: “The Australians are much better at that long distance breaststroke and it's going to be a packed field, but I'll see how that goes.
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“You've got to keep it fresh. What has worked well for me in the past was to do the 200m just for endurance training.
“I need to be uncomfortable in a scenario where I am not winning. That is something I have learned over the last few months off.”
Despite a remarkable few years for Peaty in the pool, the one title that does evade him is the 50m breaststroke Commonwealth Games gold.
As a result, this was in fact the last major defeat the 27-year-old suffered, as South African Cameron van der Burgh claimed victory on the Gold Coast back in 2018.
This defeat however would be the catalyst for his remarkable form that led him to Olympic glory three years later, and there is no doubt that he will be hoping to carry this summer.
Peaty commented: “That's the only title that I've not got. I remember on the Gold Coast, I said if I carry on like this, I'm not going to win the Olympics.
“My body and my mind weren't in the right shape back then. But I did fix that by breaking the world record a few months later.
“I'm glad we could fix that and I'm very excited for Commies. It's only 40 minutes from my house. I couldn't get more of a home Games.”
