PARIS: A day after he nearly missed out on winning the 100-meter breaststroke gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris, British swimmer Adam Peaty announced on Monday that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
Both Peaty and American Nic Fink finished 0.02 seconds behind Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi, sharing the silver medal.
The British competitor claimed he felt ill upon waking up the day of the competition, but he refused to offer an explanation. After the race, Peaty also had trouble speaking due to a sore throat.
Team GB released a statement saying, “Adam Peaty started feeling unwell on Sunday, ahead of his men’s 100m breaststroke final.” His symptoms worsened in the hours following the championship game, so early on Monday morning he underwent a Covid test. By then, his test results were positive.
“He hopes to return to the swimming program later on to compete in the relay events. The problem is being handled appropriately, and all customary measures are being taken to ensure the health of the larger delegation, as is the case with any illness.
Peaty claimed he had been attempting to get himself back to full health since waking up to a “curveball” on Sunday.
I never want it to be an excuse, so it’s not really an excuse at all. However, I had to react to a curveball,” Peaty remarked. Once more, even after eight years of training, one may not feel fully committed on a given day. Additionally, achieving 100% takes 0.02 [seconds], and that is a fact of life.
Prior to the breaststroke final, all the talk was on a match between China’s Qin Haiyang, the reigning world champion, and two-time champion Peaty.
For a significant portion of the exciting race, they were tied for first place, until Martinenghi surged ahead and beat Peaty and Fink.
Qin dropped to seventh place. It was alleged that Qin was one of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for drugs before the Tokyo Games but were still allowed to compete.
Afterwards, an emotional Peaty had tears in his eyes but insisted they weren’t a sign of melancholy. He was hoped to become just the second male swimmer after former US star Michael Phelps to win the same event at three consecutive Games.
“I believe there is no such thing as a loss for anyone who has participated in sports if they are willing to put themselves on the line every single time.”
On Sunday, there were two more golds up for grabs in the swimming pool.
Leon Marchand destroyed the competition to record the second-fastest 400-meter individual medley time ever, winning swimming for France for the first time since 2012.
With a powerful start, the 22-year-old never looked back, setting a new Olympic record in 4 minutes, 02.95 seconds, almost six seconds ahead of Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita.
Then, Torri Huske defeated world record holder and American teammate Gretchen Walsh to win the women’s 100-meter butterfly.
