PARIS: British swimmer Adam Peaty has tested positive for Covid, Team GB said on Monday, a day after he narrowly missed out on the 100 metres breaststroke goldat the Olympic Games in Paris.

Peaty shared the silver with American Nic Fink after both finished 0.02 seconds behind Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi.

The Briton had said he woke up unwell on the day of the race, although he declined to use that as an excuse. Peaty also struggled to speak after the race with a hoarse throat.

“Adam Peaty began feeling unwell on Sunday, ahead of his men’s 100m breaststroke final,” Team GB said in a statement. “In the hours after the final, his symptoms became worse and he was tested for Covid early on Monday morning. He tested positive at that point.

“He is hopeful to be back in competition for the relay events later in the swimming programme. As in any case of illness, the situation is being managed appropriately, with all usual precautions being taken to keep the wider delegation healthy.”

Peaty said he had woken up to a ‘curveball’ on Sunday and had been trying to nurse himself back to full health.

“It’s not an excuse at all, because I don’t ever want that to be an excuse. But it’s a curveball that I’ve had to respond to,” Peaty said. “And again, you can train eight years for something and not feel 100 percent on the day. And 100 percent costs you 0.02 [seconds], and that’s just the way it is.”

All the talk pre-breaststroke final was about a duel between two-time champion Peaty and China’s world title-holder Qin Haiyang.

They were neck and neck for large parts of a thrilling race, before Martinenghi roared through for victory, pipping Peaty and Fink.

Qin, who was reportedly among 23 Chinese swimmers who failed drugs tests in the lead-up to the Tokyo Games, only to be cleared to compete, faded to seventh.

An emotional Peaty, hoping to become only the second male swimmer after retired US great Michael Phelps to win the same event at three successive Games, had tears in his eyes afterwards but said they weren’t in any way a sign of sadness.

“I think anyone that’s done sport, if you’re willing to put yourself on the line every single time, I think there’s no such thing as a loss.”

Two other golds were on offer in the swimming pool on Sunday.

Leon Marchand surged to France’s first Olympic swimming gold since 2012, obliterating the field to clock the second-fastest 400m individual medley time ever.

The 22-year-old led off strongly and never looked back, touching in a new Olympic record time of 4mins 02.95secs, nearly six seconds clear of Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsushita.

Torri Huske then beat American team-mate and world record-holder Gretchen Walsh to clinch the women’s 100m butterfly title.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2024