Olympic hero Adam Peaty is urged to give up the game by his personal mom
He’s one of the country’s most decorated athletes, whose career has seen him take three Olympic golds and become a household name after a stint on Strictly Come Dancing.
But Adam Peaty‘s own mother now wants him to quit the sport after seeing his mental health deteriorate in the pursuit of glory.
She has said she hopes her son will retire from swimming after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which start next week when Peaty, 29, will be going for a third 100m breaststroke title.
Caroline Peaty said her son had ‘suffered’ and she wished for him to have some ‘normality’ now.
Peaty has spoken about his struggles with alcohol and depression, which forced him to pull out of the British Championships last year and take time off.
Adam Peaty is seen during the 60th Trofeo Settecolli at the Foro Italico in Rome, in June 2024
Adam Peaty, whose career has seen him take three Olympic golds and become a household name after a stint on Strictly Come Dancing, is seen in the royal box at Wimbledon on July 6
Adam’s mother Caroline (pictured) wants him to quit the sport after seeing his mental health deteriorate in the pursuit of glory
Mrs Peaty said the break made him ‘a better Adam’.
Peaty, born in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, has won World Championship gold medals, 17 European titles and four golds at the Commonwealth Games.
He also became the first British swimmer to defend his Olympic title when he took gold in the 100m breaststroke at the Tokyo Games in 2021 where he also won gold in the relay.
Mrs Peaty said: ‘I want him to finish swimming to have some kind of normality.’
He missed the 2022 World Champions after suffering a foot injury, before taking a break from the sport the following year.
Mrs Peaty said she had ‘noticed a difference’ during her son’s time off.
‘He was more like our Adam – he was like the son we sort of lost along the journey,’ she told the BBC.
‘He [used to be] very focused, very insular and not very much for family. Swimming always came first, which it [had] to do.
‘But I know that he’s happy, he’s in the place he wants to be now and he’s more secure. He’s ready as he’ll ever be’.
Peaty is pictured with his mother, father and ex girlfriend Anna Zair after winning the Olympic gold in the 100m breaststroke in Rio 2016
Adam Peaty competing at the British Swimming Championships in London on April 2 this year
Peaty speaks after the men’s 100m breaststroke at the London Aquatics Centre in April
Adam Peaty pictured during with dance partner Katya Jones on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021
She told BBC Derby that the family went through a ‘difficult’ time watching their son ‘suffering’.
‘Knowing your child is suffering no matter how old they are is difficult. Adam is very happy now – I think he’s a better Adam personally than what he was before, the break has done him good,’ she said.
Speaking on whether this will be his last Olympics, she added: ‘He’s going in to the Olympics not stressed, he’s happy – what’ll be will be
‘He has an open mind on whether this is his last Olympics. I hopefully want him to finish swimming and to have some kind of normality now.’
Peaty – who is 6ft3 and has size 12 feet – opened up on his mental health battle last month telling how he reached his lowest point after a gruelling training camp in Australia.
He admitted: ‘For eight months afterwards, I found myself crying all the time. The sport had broken me.
‘I got to a place where I didn’t want to look at a pool. It took me a long time to get over that period. It was only last year I started to face what I’d been going through in a healthy manner.
‘The answers can’t be found in a nightclub or some of the stuff I’d been doing.
‘It had to be found in true accountability, tough and deep conversations with people around me.
‘It requires so much maturity to face yourself in the mirror and admit that your behaviour is not acceptable.’
Adam is pictured with his mother, father and then girlfriend Eirianedd Munro, the mother of his son George. They split in 2022
Peaty is now dating Holly Ramsay, daughter of potty-mouthed chef Gordon Ramsay
Adam Peaty is pictured with Holly Ramsay, daughter of TV chef Gordon Ramsay. They met while on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, and went public with their relationship in June 2023
Adam Peaty and his girlfriend Holly Ramsey, daughter of Gordon Ramsey, hand in had in the Silverstone paddock at the British F1 Grand Prix in July 2023
Peaty first took gold at Rio 2016 in the 100m breaststroke and again at Tokyo 2020 along with another gold in the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay. He is the current world record holder at 100m breaststroke and among favourite’s for gold in Paris having set the fastest time for 2024 in the discipline at the British trials in April.
Peaty welcomed son George in September 2020 with partner Eirianedd Munro before they separated in 2022.
He is now in a relationship with Gordon Ramsay’s daughter Holly, 24. The youngest of four children, Peaty grew up in Uttoxeter with his mother Caroline, a nursery manager, and father Mark, caretaker at the Lidl.
As a child, he had an irrational fear of water and was so scared that he would throw a tantrum at bathtime, refusing to sit down in the tub meaning his mother had to wash him standing up.
He started swimming lessons aged four before his talent was spotted aged 14 by Mel Marshall, a European and Commonwealth medallist, who went on to be his coach.
Years of hard work followed with Peaty saying he had taken ‘it to a place not many people have gone’.
He told Men’s Health UK: ‘That mentality has got me medals but it has cost me. Medals are the coldest thing you wear because in pursuit of greatness, you’ll destroy relationships. ‘People will tell you there’s a choice but there is no choice it’s win or lose. I’ve got to be willing to go all in for a victory.
‘Most of the time you have to be selfish to achieve the goals I’m striving for.’
