Adam Ramsay-Peaty will relish the chance to let his swimming do the talking when he returns to his fourth Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next week.
The three-time Olympic champion has become a fixture of the gossip columns since he married Holly Ramsay, daughter of celebrity chef Gordon, in December last year.
A much-publicised rift with the majority of his family – over which Ramsay-Peaty has maintained a stoic silence – has not helped shift the focus back to his lung-bursting exploits in the pool.
But Ramsay-Peaty has plenty of inspiration to draw on as he looks to reignite his career at the Games where his world-level career effectively had lift-off when he pipped favourite Cameron van der Burgh to surge to 100m gold in the same city in 2014.
Ramsay-Peaty said: “I’d like to get to Glasgow as a kind of full-circle moment from my first one in 2014, when I beat Cameron van der Burgh, and see what we can come away with.
“Throughout my career, the Commonwealth Games have probably been the championships where I’ve learned the most. Hopefully this time we don’t have to learn too much and we can get some incredible results.”
Ramsay-Peaty was 19 years old on his Games debut and hit the headlines by beating Van der Burgh, the reigning Olympic and world record holder, to win the 100m and spark eight years of almost total dominance in the event.
Four years later he was pipped by Van der Burgh to lose his four-year unbeaten record in the 50m on the Gold Coast, and in 2022 in Birmingham he won 50m gold but lost his eight-year 100m winning streak when he trailed home in a shock fourth place.
“It’ll be my fourth Commonwealth Games,” added Ramsay-Peaty. “That’s a lot of Commonwealth Games, and each one has presented different challenges.
“They’ve caught me at different times in my life, with different physical states and injuries. You name it, I’ve been through it at the Commonwealth Games.”
Interest in Ramsay-Peaty’s private life – exacerbated by his recent announcement that he and his wife are expecting their first child – has ensured a tightly-controlled media build-up to a Games in which Ramsay-Peaty is one of the few genuine stars committed to compete.
His silver medal at the Paris Olympics appeared to reaffirm his desire to continue on the big stage after a difficult 2023, in which he withdrew from a series of events in order to focus on mental health concerns.
“I don’t see success as medals anymore,” added Peaty. “That’s not defeatist and it’s not waving the white flag. It’s probably the opposite.
“Success for me is coming away from Glasgow knowing I’ve done absolutely everything I possibly could to finish as high as I can.”
