Swimmer Adam Ramsay-Peaty no longer dominates breaststroke as he did during the eight years in which he remained unbeaten, but he has found a different way to keep competing. The three-time Olympic champion has come away from the Commonwealth Games currently taking place in Glasgow with two bronze medals and a conclusion that explains his new reality: “Before, it was athlete first and human second. Now it is human first and athlete second”.
At the age of 31, Ramsay-Peaty finished third in both the 100m and 50m breaststroke. In the shorter event, he needed a late comeback to clock 26.94 seconds and beat South Africa’s Chris Smith by one hundredth of a second. Australia’s Sam Williamson won in 26.50, while Michael Houlie finished second in 26.77. The British swimmer was almost a second outside his world record.
The result still hurts because, according to him, his training data showed progress that did not materialise in competition, and he admits that he has lost power with each stroke. The difference lies in how he now manages that frustration. Ramsay-Peaty remains fully committed as a professional athlete, but he is no longer willing to pay the personal price demanded by the version of himself built solely to win. It offers a reflection for a society that constantly looks at and compares results, clumsily stripping away everything that surrounds them and everything they entail.
His first major competition since Paris 2024
That is why he explains that his “superpower” now takes a different form. It once meant dominating his rivals and living entirely for sport, even though it cost him “pretty much everything. My superpower is different now. Looking after the children, preparing bottles and continuing to be a professional athlete is also a kind of superpower”. He has not lost his ambition, but he no longer accepts that winning should take absolute priority over his life. He considers returning to a major competition for the first time since Paris 2024 and reaching the podium twice to be a success.
Archie Goodburn was the real winner
In the same final, Scotland’s Archie Goodburn received the biggest ovation of the night after finishing tied for last place. Goodburn was diagnosed in 2024 with three inoperable oligodendrogliomas, a form of incurable brain cancer. Treatment with vorasidenib has slowed the disease and allowed him to delay chemotherapy and radiotherapy while continuing to swim.
Goodburn competes to raise awareness among young patients and to help ensure that those who receive the same diagnosis in the future have more options. Ramsay-Peaty is trying to remain an athlete without forgetting the person again. Neither man won the final, but both had very different reasons to consider themselves the true winners of the race.
Last related articles
