First came an apology. ‘Sorry guys,’ said Adam Ramsay-Peaty, as his voice began to tremble. He wiped away a tear from his face and stared at the Tollcross floor to find his words.
The bronze medal around his neck felt like a heavy weight. ‘It’s hard because I know how hard I’ve worked. I know the s**t I’ve been through, which is no fault of my own. It does take a toll.’
After standing upon the podium, the 31-year-old walked around the pool and stopped for selfies with his adoring fans. An Englishman has not received a reception like this in Glasgow for a long time.
He stopped to hug his pregnant wife, Holly – the daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay – before kissing her pregnant stomach. They are expecting a daughter in December and, as the swimmer confessed, family life has changed his priorities.
‘She’s always super proud of me,’ he said. ‘As a father, it doesn’t matter if you come home with the gold, as long as you come home with the teddy, which I did. That’s what matters.
‘As you can tell, the emotion is always something that I’m 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, stronger husbands.
‘I think ‘S**t, how have I worked so hard at this age?’ – then you get a result like that. I’m better than that. Maybe it’s because I’ve had two years out, but it does hurt. There’s a lot going on in my head right now.’
Adam Ramsay-Peaty was brought to tears as he reflected ‘I’m never going to be afraid to show weakness’ after securing bronze at the Commonwealth games
Adam Ramsay-Peaty stopped to hug his pregnant wife, Holly – the daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay – before kissing her pregnant stomach
The pair wed on December 27 last year at Bath Abbey
Ramsay-Peaty was chasing from the start. He was not the leader of the pack. Perhaps he will fare better over 50 metres but here, over two lengths, he finished almost three seconds off his world record.
Australian Sam Williamson won gold and 18-year-old Filip Nowacki, of Jersey, claimed a brilliant silver that bodes well for the future of British swimming.
‘I’m not crying because it’s a bronze instead of a gold,’ said Peaty, choking up throughout. ‘I’m crying because I know that swim could have been better. I don’t really know what went wrong in these last two weeks but something isn’t hitting right, whether it’s pace or focus.
‘I feel like I couldn’t have put more in, so you ask, ‘What’s the point of all the 5.30ams. What’s the point of all the metres every day? What’s the point of feeling exhausted all the time? What’s the point of saying, ‘No’ to all the family events because of training?’ It’s because you want excellence and that isn’t excellence for me.
‘I enjoy a scrap but I lost that scrap in the last 25 metres. That’s sport. Most of the time I’ve won the scrap. For some reason, the Commonwealths is that humble reminder.’
The wedding stories, the family feud and the social media abuse have taken their toll. The pool should be his place of escape but he swam with the world on his shoulders.
‘People who comment and read headlines have got to look themselves in the mirror. Ignoring that comes at a cost. That hasn’t played a part in that result here but it has to stop. Do better. I don’t want young Filip to go through that.’
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Ramsay-Peaty was overcome with emotion in the mixed zone reflecting on his bronze medal
Throughout his decorated career, Ramsay-Peaty has been so far ahead of the field that he has had to look in the mirror to find competition. He has broken 14 world records, asserting a similar dominance to Sweden’s serial pole vault champion Armand Duplantis. Untouchables. Now people will ask if time is finally catching up with Britain’s greatest swimmer.
Nowacki is still waiting for his A Level results but the schoolboy from Millfield has already beaten his idol’s teenage records. In 2012, Jason Kenny beat Chris Hoy to become the top dog of cycling. Lamine Yamal overcame Lionel Messi in last week’s World Cup final. Swimming insiders believe it is a matter of time until Nowacki pulls a similar stunt.
‘For me, he’s got a very bright future ahead of him,’ said Ramsay-Peaty, whose gold earrings caught the light of the cameras. ‘He’s my favourite for the 200m. He’s definitely got the speed and he’s about 25kgs less! He’s got many many miles ahead of him, whereas my miles are probably coming to an end. I guess two years isn’t that long to try and find that in me.’
Side by side, they look like David and Goliath. Nowacki is five inches shorter and does not have the same popping biceps. Ramsay-Peaty changed the game with his powerful upper body stroke but Nowacki’s strength is in his kick. He keeps his hips high and moves more gracefully than his senior, who forces his way through the water.
Nowacki will discover his maths, economics and physics exam results during next month’s European Championships. Then he plans to enrol at Loughborough University, where he can master his craft in time for the LA 2028 Olympics. Major medals are in his sights, although Ramsay-Peaty is not ready to stand aside just yet.
‘To be racing one of the best in the world – arguably the greatest breaststroker of all time – is very special to me,’ said Nowacki, who won the world junior championships last year in a time of 2:07.32, which would have medalled in every senior Olympics, bar one
Ramsay-Peaty knows a promising swimmer when he sees one. He has already signed up Nowacki to his own agency and will continue to mentor his prodigy.
‘If I compare myself to 2014, 12 years ago, it’s very exciting where Filip and his career can go,’ he said. ‘It’s sport, it’s beautiful, but f**k me, it can hurt.’
