EMOTIONAL Adam Ramsay-Peaty broke down in tears as he revealed he was humbled by a shock Commonwealth Games defeat.
The three-time Olympic champion, 31, walked away from the Tollcross International Centre in Glasgow with a surprise bronze medal from his specialist event.
Credit: AP:Associated Press
Ramsay-Peaty talked about the ‘s***’ he had been through this year Credit: AFP
Australian Sam Williamson secured gold in the men’s 100 metres breaststroke in a time of 59.17 seconds while Filip Nowacki, 18, claimed Jersey’s first medal since 1990 with 59.34 seconds.
Ramsay-Peaty, 31, got married last December to Holly Ramsay – the daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay – whose stomach he kissed because she is expecting their first child.
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The London-based swimmer – who has a child from another relationship – cried as he talked about the “s***” he had been through this year and how frustrated he was with his tired display.
Ramsay-Peaty, swimming with a broken finger on his right hand, said: “In a final you want to give your fastest time. I’m not really sure why it wasn’t.
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“It’s been two years since I’ve done heat-semis-final, so maybe it’s just an adjustment.
“It’s too early to tell what that event is capable of at this age now. But I’m a fighter.
“I do enjoy a scrap, but I lost a scrap this time, in the last 25 metres, and that is sport.
“For some reason, the Commonwealths are just that humble reminder. I go faster at champs in April, then go slower when I’ve got an actual real big cycle. It’s very raw. I feel like I deserve more.”
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Ramsay-Peaty, the world-record holder in the discipline, had to stop and compose himself as he talked about the online hate he had received for being someone in the public eye.
The Staffordshire Pool Terrier, who left his old Loughborough training base, missed out on the medals completely four years ago in Birmingham as he came fourth.
He said: “It’s hard because I know how hard I work. I know the s*** I’ve been through.
“No fault of my own. It does take a toll. The choices I’ve made over the last few months have been hard ones.
“But I’m happy at the same time that I can get here. I didn’t quit at the Paris Olympics. I deserved more. I f***ing work for it.
“There’s obviously a lot of unanswered questions, which is about right, because we haven’t yet had time to debrief.
“But that is sport. It can break you. It can make you. You can have highs to highs and lows to lows.
“My wife is always going to be proud of me. As a father, it doesn’t matter if you come home with a gold – as long as you come home with a teddy, which I did.
“The emotion is something I’m always going to carry. I’m never going to be afraid to show weakness.
“Because it’s so important for making stronger people, making stronger men, stronger fathers, husbands.
Ramsay-Peaty kissed the stomach of his wife Holly Ramsay-Peaty after winning bronze Credit: Reuters
The Ramsay-Peatys are expecting their first child Credit: Getty Images – Getty
“This cycle especially, I’m like, s***, how have I worked this hard at this age? And then you get a result like that. I’m better than that.
“I can’t really put in where it went wrong. Maybe it’s just an off-swim. Or maybe it’s just because I’ve been two years out of the championship heats and semi-finals. But it does hurt.
“There’s a lot going on in my head right now. The same thing happened four years ago in Birmingham.
“It’s about ignoring most of the rubbish you read about me online. You don’t know who I am.
“People who comment have got to look at themselves in the mirror – you cannot hurt me.
“It’s about my family, and that does come at a cost – being able to ignore that, and being able to focus on my job.”
