Adam Peaty returns to action with World Cup bronze in Berlin

Three-time Olympic champion Adam Peaty made his competitive return with 50m Breaststroke bronze at the first leg of the World Aquatics World Cup in Berlin.

Peaty last competed back in March after taking a break to focus on his mental health and life outside of the pool.

But he was back in action in the German capital and on the podium too thanks to a time of 26.98 in the 50m Breaststroke final on Saturday.

The time was just 0.69 off China’s Haiyang Qin – who completed a historic breaststroke hat trick of 50m, 100m and 200m titles at the World Aquatics Championships this summer.

Qin’s 26.29 in Berlin was a new World Cup record time with the Netherlands’ Arno Kamminga splitting the pair, finishing just 0.01 ahead of Peaty.

Peaty also took part in the 100m Breaststroke on Friday where he placed sixth in the final. He finished in just under a minute with Qin taking the title in 57.69 which was 1.32 faster than his nearest challenger as he set another World Cup record.

Four time Commonwealth and eight-time world champion Peaty comfortably improved on both of his efforts from the heats as he begun his preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Speaking after his bronze, Peaty told World Aquatics that having people pushing him on is one of the reasons that he’s excited to be back.

He said: “It’s a much better improvement on the morning swim, and I guess this ‘comeback’ is more of a testament to the challenge I’ve got in the race.

“It’s a metaphor for life – you don’t stop when it gets hard.

🇬🇧 @adam_peaty post race open mic 🎤🤩 #SWC23pic.twitter.com/MR99TPultF

— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) October 7, 2023

Continuous improvement

“It’s great to have people like this racing all around the world, pushing me. For me, as I’ve said, it’s not about the medals, it’s about continually improving, continually finding the best and continually learning.

“As soon as I stop learning and as soon as the joy stops, I said I was done – and I’m still learning 18 years on. It’s an absolute pleasure to race the best in the world – Qin is amazing, I’ve been racing Arno for quite a while now and this season is going to be epic.”

City of Manchester’s Jamie Ingram also travelled to Berlin for the event. He finished 18^th in the 100m Butterfly and 24^th in the 50m event.

The Commonwealth Games silver medallist also took part in the 100m Freestyle where he placed 31^st as continues his 2023-24 campaign.

Both Peaty and Ingram are set to compete across the further two legs of the World Aquatics World Cup events. The pair will travel to Athens for the second leg next weekend before completing the event in Budapest from 20-22 October.

You can find all the results from the World Aquatics World Cup first leg in Berlin here and you can watch all the World Cup action on the World Aquatics YouTube channel.

If you are or know a competitive swimmer who would like some advice on mental health support, please click here.

Image: British Swimming