Two-hundredths of a second. A few small millimetres. A fractionally mistimed final lunge for the line. Waking up with a sore throat on your four-yearly date with destiny.
It is on these margins that a lifetime of preparation can turn and, after years spent being so much better than the rest of the world, Adam Peaty finally has the agonising taste of Olympic defeat.
Not that it really looked much that way during a tearful poolside embrace with his girlfriend Holly Ramsay, mum Caroline and young son George after receiving a silver medal following what his mentor Mel Marshall has called an emotional tsunami.
Peaty continued to claim that there was victory in simply competing at this level again but, after leading through much of the race and only losing on the final touch for the wall, it would still be surprising if there is not some lingering regret.
I touched the wall and I truly believed that I had got it, he said. He talked about an interesting debrief and, while the now more measured and balanced Peaty will emphasise the positives, he will also be honest to locate the many what ifs.
Like not waking up ill and, in a race that had always looked certain to be decided by fine margins, losing precious ground at the very start and the very finish of the race.
Having trailed in second at the 25m turn after labouring off the blocks, Peaty did then overhaul his Chinese rival Qin Haiyang in what was expected to be a big head-to-head showdown, and he looked for all the world to be swimming triumphantly into the history books.
But that did not allow for the Italian, Nicolò Martinenghi, in lane seven, who timed his swim better and literally passed Peaty in the final finger-tip reach for the wall.
Peaty later acknowledged that it was probably significant he was out of immediate view in lane four, with the Briton just seeming to marginally lose momentum in the final metres to tie with the American Nic Fink for second.
And, in that split second, the chance to join only Michael Phelps on a hat-trick of individual Olympic swimming titles and become only the second Briton with just Ben Ainslie to win an individual Olympic title three times had slipped away.
Peaty was refusing to sound anything but magnanimous after the race but the frustration at missing what would also have been Team GBs first gold medal of these Games will surely be compounded by what was ultimately required to win.
Martinenghis winning time of 59.03sec was more than two seconds off Peatys world record and well over a second slower than the Briton had himself managed earlier this year in winning the British trials. It was also slower than Peaty had swam when he felt rather more healthy in winning the semi-final 24 hours earlier.
Peaty shed numerous tears in the aftermath, largely probably in relief that it was all over, and he repeatedly stressed that it was an emotion explained by what it had taken just to get on the start line rather than the result. There was an admirable lack of self-pity and bitterness.
It is, after all, only 18 months since Peaty says that sport had broken him. He had been dealing with bouts of depression, time out with a broken foot and separation from his partner Eiri Munro when, one morning during training in Loughborough, his goggles filled with tears.
He told Marshall that he had enough and he walked out of the pool, not knowing whether he would be back. They decided that he should take baby steps back. That meant not committing to the demands of competitive swimming again, but keeping in touch with the water still and, in swimming as much for mental health as a competitive edge, keeping his options open.
In that five-month period of reflection, there were two seismic changes in attending church more regularly and finding a new life partner in Holly, the daughter of the celebrity chef, Gordon.
It has been a more relaxed Peaty during the comeback and, despite losing plenty more times than he had experienced in the previous decade, he has certainly seemed happier.
“I’m not crying because I’ve come second, I’m crying because it just took so much to get here.” What a journey it’s been for @adam_peaty #Paris2024 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/gD2XsHoCKI
BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 28, 2024
It will be fascinating, then, to see what comes next. This was Peatys sixth Olympic medal and his place as Britains greatest swimmer is secure. But he also has a relentless drive for success and seems finally to have found a way of enjoying swimming while not allowing his entire wellbeing to be wrapped up in the result.
A long break from competitive action does feel post-Paris but, equally, do not be surprised if at some point between now 2028 we wake up one morning and hear that he is back training again.
It’s fair to say @TeamGB’s Adam Peaty loves the #Olympics #BBCOlympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/lBYD5u8qgD
BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 28, 2024
@adam_peaty I’m so proud of you Adam well done love andGod bless love Nan
Mavis (@Mavise42Mavis) July 28, 2024
Matt Richards:
That was a nervy couple of minutes. I needed to do more down that last 50 to make it a safe semi. Ive got a lane tomorrow night and thats all that matters.
On his chances at a medal:
Stranger things have happened. Ill come into it with the same attitude I always do and see if I can beat big Duncy here!
On tonights swim:
I wouldnt say it was one of my best swims, theres definitely areas I could have, and should have, been better.
On his tactics for the final:
Well keep our cards close to our chest now and go after it tomorrow.
On competing against Team GB teammate Duncan Scott:
If either of us get on the podium tomorrow it will be a success for Britain.
Duncan Scott:
On representing Britain in the finals.
I think since Jimmy and the boys won the worlds in the 4x200m weve had some real consistency in the event. Its always nice having a fellow Brit in the corner and to battle against them.
On qualifying:
Yeah I mean to be eleventh out of the heat to get through second in the semi-finals is fantastic.
Peaty is now embracing his family, flooding with tears. Lets look back on his race and just how close he came.
Just 0.02 seconds in it.Adam Peaty gave it everything ️ @BBCSport #Paris2024pic.twitter.com/LRHdHPwhZf
Team GB (@TeamGB) July 28, 2024
Its been a very long way back and I look at the score there and you would never think in your wildest dream that it would be 59s to win it there.
I executed as well as I could. It doesnt matter what it says on the scoreboard because in my heart I know that Ive won there. Im not crying because Ive come second, Im crying because of how hard its been to get here. he said.
Its incredibly hard to win it once, then to win it again, and then to win it again. Everything Ive done to this point has happened for a reason, and I can still compete with the best in the world.
In my heart Ive won, and these are happy tears. I said to myself Id give it my all every day and Ive done that, so how can you not be happy?
This is what the Olympics is about, and I was just one percent two percent out. I woke up this morning with something in my neck, but these are not excuses, its what athletes have to deal with.
Im a very religious man and I asked god just to show my heart and this is my heart, I couldnt have done more.
“In my heart I’ve already won” ️Adam Peaty let all his emotions out after he won silver in the men’s breaststroke final We’re very proud of you Adam!#BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/JxUFvunn2Z
BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 28, 2024
The Australian wins the second semi-final, having won gold yesterday. Australia also claimed second place through Mollie OCallaghan. Siobhan Bernadette Haughey comes third.
The American swimmer wins the first semi-finals followed by Barbora Seemanova of the Czech Republic and Mary-Sophie Harvey of Canada.
Two hundreths of a second. How close, how cruel, for Adam Peaty. Denied his third gold in a row by Nicola Martinenghi, whose Google Trends report is about to see a significant spike from the La Défense Arena area.
Peaty was straight over to congratulate the Italian. Was there a tear in the eye? Tough to tell in an aquatic event, but from what I could see Peaty did not look too crushed.
This is the final race of the day with lots still on the line.
Australian duo Ariarne Titmus and Mollie OCallaghan will be competing after their successful Saturday in which they both won gold, the former in the 400m Freestyle and the latter in the 100m Freestyle Relay.
Peaty is just pipped to it by the Italian Niccolo Martinenghi. Peaty claims joint second alongside Nic Finc of America. It was a remarkable race but ultimately not enough from Peaty who didnt break 59s which would have won him this race.
The Italian beats Peaty by two one-hundredths of a second at 59.03secs.
Qin fell all the way to seventh after his hot start.
This race was so close from first to seventh with the difference a mere half of a second.
Peaty has some work to do but is right there with Qin at the end of the first stroke.
Peaty has a decent start but Qin of China blasts his way forward to first off the dive.
Lane 1- Lucas Matzerath (Germany)
Lane 2- Caspar Corbeau (Netherlands)
Lane 3- Arno Kamminga (Netherlands)
Lane 4- Adam Peaty (Great Britain)
Lane 5- Haiyang Qin (China)
Lane 6- Nic Fink (USA)
Lane 7- Nicolo Martinenghi (Italy)
Lane 8- Melvin Imoudu (Germany)
Peaty looks extremely calm as he walks out here.
This is it, the Mens 100m Breaststroke Final, where Adam Peaty will go for his third consecutive gold medal in the event. Ludicrously, he has the 14 fastest times record in the event and is certainly the favourite here.
Qin is the ranked world number one right now and will look to push Peaty to the end.
The Chinese swimmer wins it by almost an entire length thanks to a rapid start earning him a 24.89sec time. Oliver Morgan of Team GB gets third place which will be enough to qualify for the finals in seventh place. Christou Apostolos comes second for Greece.
Jiayu Xu with an incredible start in his fourth Olympic games.
Mood here a touch flat. The majority French crowd have got what they came for with Marchands victory and subsequent medal ceremony. They are sticking around perhaps for Mewen Tomac and Yihann Ndoye-Brouard in their 100m backstroke semis which take place before Peatys race. Be interested in how many head for dinner at the many chain restaurants around the arena after that.
Some absolute shenanigans during their medal ceremony from Americans Tori Huske and Gretchen Walsh, who were first and second in the 100m butterfly. They were two tenths of a second apart but that is no excuse for sharing the first place on the podium, as they did. Whats the point of a lovely staggered three-person podium if gracious winners decide to invite their silver medallist friends onto the top spot?
Thomas Ceccon of Italy has a fantastic second length swim to win the race. Yohann Ndoye-Brouard of France finishes joint second alongside Pieter Coetze of South Africa. Olympic record holder Ryan Murphy comes in fourth whilst Jonny Marshall comes eighth and will not qualify for the finals.
A great start from Ryan Murphy of Team USA the Olympic champion from Rio. Marshall with a good start keeping good pace.
Team GB are represented in both sides of the semi-finals here, with Jonny Marshall in the first and Oliver Morgan in the second.
World record holder Ceccon Thomas and Olympic record holder Ryan Murphy are lining up in the first.
Torri Huske wins wins gold at 55.59secs with Gretchen Walsh just four tenths of a second behind. Zhang Yufei of China comes third.
This podium #Swimming #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/QtVZoaLFpR
World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) July 28, 2024
Lane 1- Mizuki Hirai (Japan)
Lane 2- Margaret Mac Neil (Canada)
Lane 3- Yufei Zhang (China)
Lane 4- Gretchen Walsh (USA)
Lane 5- Torri Huske (USA)
Lane 6- Angelina Koehler (Germany)
Lane 7- Emma McKeon (Australia)
Lane 8- Louise Hansson (Sweden)
In a remarkable opening night for the American swimmer, Gretchen Walsh set a new Olympic record in her semi-final swim at 55.38sec and won silver with the USA team in the 4x100m Freestyle relay – she will be the firm favourite for this one, holding the three fastest times in the events history.
A strong swim but a poor second half which let the others catch up. McSharry rocketed her way to second place whilst King takes third to qualify.
Agharad Evans of Team GB was fast enough to qualify for the finals, coming fourth in this race and sixth overall.
The Irish swimmer pushes hard in the second half and is catching Smith…
Its very even to start but Smith comes out strong as expected. Meilutyte starts well holding second place at half way.
The Chinese swimmer had a strong second length and earns her first place finish.
Alina Zmushka comes second and Pilato in third.
The target for the second semi-final is 66.39sec.
Pilato takes a quick lead but turns poorly after the first length and its tight at the front.
Up next is the Womens 100m Breaststroke semifinals.
In the second of the two swims, the Olympic record holder Tatjana Smith of South Africa will face world record holder Lilly King of the USA in what might be a prequel to the final. Agharad Evans of Team GB is also competing in lane seven.
Litchfield speaking on missing out on a medal for the third consecutive Olympics
Obviously its very disappointing, but itts the best time, a summer British record – I couldnt ask for more than that.
Its hard. Ive given my everything physically mentally and emotionally. Its tough.
Ive come fourth in three consecutive Olympics how many people can say that. Its tough.
The Romanian wins it, with Scott of Team GB in second place and the Australian Guilani in third.
A great effort from Duncan Scott to force his way into second place.
That also means that Matt Richards will qualify alongside Scott for the finals.
…but Scott is driving hard and is close behind in second place.
Popovici has a great start in the centre here for Romania. Scott is half a length behind but will look to push on in the second half.
An incroyable noise for Leon Marchand in the 400m medley from the proud home crowd, when did swimming get so rowdy? There was the generic Allez Les Bleus before the race, which morphed into Allez Leon. Then during his breaststroke leg a wonderful and well-timed Allez! every time his head bobbed out of the water.
Before the first race there was a spontaneous rendition of the national anthem too. One of those thrilling moments when a crowd wills something stirring into action by collective telepathy. On the other side of the coin, a mandatory Mexican wave shortly afterwards.
Spontaneous Marseillaise before the swimming, really very stirring. Enforced Mexican wave now though, so swings et roundabouts pic.twitter.com/lhX66dgyQX
Thom Gibbs (@thomgibbs) July 28, 2024
Silver medalist in Tokyo Duncan Scott features on this side of the semi-finals competing with Australian pair Thomas Neill and Maximilian Giulani. David Popovici of Romania is in lane 4 – he came fourth in 2021.
Richards and Hwang both fall out the top three having lead for the first 60 metres of this one. Luke Hobson wins at 51.44s. Lukas Maertens, the winner for Germany yesterday, comes in second. The Lithuanian Danas Rapsys comes in third.
Richards should qualify as his time was quick.
Its neck and neck as we come to the final stretch with the German Maertens right there along with the Lithuanian Rapsys.
Matt Richards comes out flying taking an early lead. Hwang pushes back quickly and takes the lead going into halfway.
Here comes the first of the 200m Freestyle semi-finals. 21-year-old Matthew Richards is in lane three for Team GB, no doubt with one eye on the final having won gold at the 2023 World Championships. Sunwoo Hwang of South Korea, World Champion in Doha this year, is in lane seven.
Not sure there can ever have been a better atmosphere than that in any swimming race. Olympic record for French hero Leon Marchard, whose every breath during the breaststroke leg of the 400m medley was greeted with a deafening, rhythmic cheer, destroyed the field to win in an Olympic record time of 4min 2.96sec.
Great British medal hope Max Litchfield finished an agonising fourth for what is the third consecutive Olympics. Litchfield had moved into second with 50m to go but just faltered in the final strokes to miss out on a medal by 0.19sec.
Good evening from La Défense Arena, home to Paul McCartney and Sum 41 later this year, Taylor Swift in May and Olympic swimming in between. Adam Peaty stands on the brink of a three-peat(y) tonight, and you better believe that has been pencilled in as the headline for many of tomorrows papers already.
Hes up in around 80 minutes and will be in the midst of a well-honed pre-race routine currently, which likely involves a lot of visualising, breathing exercises, eating of his Weetabix etc. Was listening to an interview he gave to Chris Hoy earlier today and marvelling at just how much thought goes into his sport which is, if you want to be glib about it, just trying as hard as you can at something for around a minute.
Doing that to the standards he has achieved requires such focus, such consistency, such resilience. Factoring in his comeback arc, after taking a break from the sport to improve is mental health, and you sense victory here will be one of the standout British moments of these Games. Best not to count any chickens yet, he certainly will not be.
A dominant display for the Frenchman as he claims the gold by some length at 4mins 2.95sec. Hes Smashed Phelps record and won the first medal France has ever won in the event.
Matsushita of Japan comes in second whilst Carson Foster gets bronze.
A valiant display from Max Litchfield but he misses out on a medal by a fraction of a second for the third Olympics in a row. Heartbreaking but a new British record for the 29 year old.
Marchand is well under the world record and looks on course to break it. Litchfield has some left in the tank and is pushing Matsushita and Foster.
Marchand is now three lengths ahead and this looks all but done. Seto and Foster of the USA are neck and neck competing for the silver.
The difference between everyone else is minor, and Marchand is literally stretching out of picture.
Marchand is blasting forward, on pace with the world record as he gets into his backstroke. The gap with Litchfield is significant, but there is time to make it up.
Marchand comes out to and early lead as expected. Litchfield lagging behind but butterfly is his weakest stroke. The Japanese Daiya Seto is hot on the Frenchmans tail.
Max comes out to a nice reception from the crowd and laps it up.
However, he is followed by the French favourite Leon Marchand who receives a roar of approval.
It will take a huge effort for Litchfield to win this one, but he looks relaxed and confident
The swimmers line up as follows:
Lane 1- Lewis Clareburt (Australia)
Lane 2- Tomoyuki Matsushita (Japan)
Lane 3- Daiya Seto (Japan)
Lane 4- Léon Marchand (France)
Lane 5- Max Litchfield (Great Britain)
Lane 6- Carson Foster (USA)
Lane 7- Alberto Razzetti (Italy)
Lane 8- Cedric Buessing (Germany)
Huge night in the pool for Team GB – and not just because of Adam Peatys quest for a third straight 100m breaststroke gold.
Max Litchfield will go in the 400m medley final earlier and, after fourth place finishes in each of the past two Olympics, has another real chance of a medal. He will be against the home hero Leon Marchand, who is hoping to win the first of a possible four golds. They have just dimmed the lights inside the La Defense Arena and sung the French national anthem, with chants of Leon ringing around.
Weve got three finals coming up tonight starting with the Mens 400m Individual Medley Final very soon.
Adam Peaty will be competing later on in the Mens 100m Breaststroke Final looking to join Michael Phelps as only the second male swimmer to win gold in the same event at three Olympics in a row.
Spontaneous Marseillaise before the swimming, really very stirring. Enforced Mexican wave now though, so swings et roundabouts pic.twitter.com/lhX66dgyQX
Thom Gibbs (@thomgibbs) July 28, 2024
Great Britain swimming sensation Adam Peaty will be seeking his third gold medal in the mens 100 metre breaststroke tonight at 20:44. If he wins, he will join Michael Phelps as the only male swimmers to win the same event at three consecutive Olympics.
Peaty has had a more complicated relationship with the sport relative to his American counterpart but comes into these games with reordered priorities and purpose.
His career faced a crossroads last year as he found himself at odds with the sport. The love for the sport and desire to win at all costs had faded, with swimming causing him more grief than happiness.
Peaty attributed his newfound perspective to the inspiration his son provides, dragging him from the lowest of the lows to where he stands today.
When youre younger, you think if I get a gold medal, its going to solve so many problems, he said. My relationship with a gold medal now is that I know that it wont solve any of the problems that I want it to. I do it to win. I want to be the best. I am the best. Ive still got the world record.
I have a FaceTime call with my son George, who is nearly four years old, and he goes daddy are you the fastest boy? said Peaty. And thats kind of my purpose now to prove that Im the fastest boy to my son.
Tune in for the Mens 100m Breaststroke Final live blog here at 20:44.
Adam Peaty isnt the only man from Team GB competing for a medal.
Max Litchfield won silver at the World Championships in February and qualified second fastest in the semi-finals of the Mens 400m Individual Medley.
Max also set the British record in the event to book his place in Paris for his third Olympics. Having finished fourth in both Tokyo and Rio, he will desperate for a medal here tonight.
Hes up against home favourite Léon Marchand who holds the world record at 4mins 3.5sec and beat out Litchfield in their heat earlier today.
Lukas Maertens won gold for Germany last night in the Mens 400m Freestyle, becoming the first swimmer from his nation to do so since 1988.
Coming out at a blistering pace, he was on world-record pace for some time before finishing just a second and a half off it.
Sisters Alex and Gretchen Walsh will both be competing for gold in Paris this year but at different ends of the sport.
Alex is an imposing 6ft athlete, talented across the board and a strong medal contender for the 200m Individual Medley.
Gretchen is a double-jointed sprinter with uncanny flexibility and set a new Olympic record in Womens 100m Butterfly in her semi-final yesterday. Shell be competing in the final tonight and has already won silver in the 4x100m Freestyle final with Team USA. She will also compete in the 50m Freestyle event later on.
Both sisters go to the University of Virginia where they have broken numerous records and won four consecutive NCAA Championships starting in 2021.
Tune in here to see how Gretchen fairs in the finals at 19:40.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has come under fire over their handling of allegations that Chinas Olympic swimming team had been cheating. Prior to the opening ceremony leading swimmers condemned the investigation which failed to ban China in 2021 after 23 athletes failed drug tests.
The Chinese Anti-Doping Agency claimed athletes positive tests came as a result of contamination, refusing to publish further details. Wada reviewed the decision, consulting scientific experts and external legal counsel, and ultimately concluded it was in no position to contradict Chinadas findings.
Adam Peaty was among those to criticise Wada back in April, frustrated at their failure to announce their findings at the time.
Why not release this information at the time, who really benefits from the lack of transparency and secrecy? Peaty said on social media. What happened to strict liability? Whether someone benefits or not, surely at this scale it proves its systematic?
So disappointing from Wada.
Caeleb Dressel, the seven-time Olympic gold medalist, bluntly replied no, not really when asked whether he had confidence in the case involving 23 athletes.
Australias Olympic 200 metres Breaststroke champion Zac Stubblety-Cook also indicated he may carry out a podium protest against the Chinese. The system, he said, ultimately feels like its failed.
It is believed 11 of the 23 Chinese swimmers are due to compete in Paris as the FBI investigates the case under the Rodchenko Act, which was passed after the Russian doping scandal at the Sochi Winter Games. Wada and the IOC oppose the challenge to their authority, however.
In an unusual turn of events during this mornings qualifying heats a hero donned in colourful budgie smugglers came to the rescue.
Team USAs Emma Webber had lost her swim cap in the pool causing a delay in-between the preliminary heats in the 100m Womens Breaststroke. It needed to be removed as it was obstructing the various cameras placed at the bottom of the pool.
Our hero arrived just at the right time, stripped down naturally and performed a ten-out-of-ten dive in front of 15,000 inside the La Defense Arena. Without him, who knows whether the Olympics would have been able to go ahead.
Not the hero we expected, but the hero we needed.
GIVE THIS MAN A MEDAL! When a rogue swimming cap found its way into the Olympic pool, this man and his snazzy shorts sprung into action in front of 15,000 people #BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/QkYxhGupbK
BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 28, 2024
A look at Peatys semi-final from last night…
Great Britain’s Adam Peaty has eased into the men’s 100m breaststroke final.#Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/sR3WJYds3p
BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 27, 2024
Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of this evenings session of swimming at the Paris Olympic Aquatic Centre, where Adam Peaty will look to complete a threepeat of 100m breaststroke gold medals at three consecutive Games.
The 29-year-old seemed to own this event for so many years, setting the world record in 2019 with an astonishing time of 56.88 seconds.
But since then he has taken time out to deal with depression and alcohol issues and said before the Games he is coming in as the person with the bow and arrow and not the one being fired at.
Chinas Qin Haiyang is the big competition, but Peaty set the fastest time in the semis, with his time of 58.86 seconds 0.07 secs faster than Qin.
Just getting out there, enjoying the crowd, a bit of adrenaline, and its put me in the best lane for the final, so well see what we get there tomorrow, said Peaty after cruising through his semi-final.
I know Ive been in this situation many times before, but again, its about enjoying it.
I embrace the nerves, I love the nerves, but whatever the result tomorrow, I want to finish with a smile, he added. I know that I give my all, with no mistakes, and I think that I can do that.
There is expected to be an edge to the contest. Peaty has called for a fair game after the build-up to the Olympic swimming events was overshadowed by the revelation that a group of 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trace amounts of the banned substance trimetazidine prior to the Tokyo Games.
Qin, who holds the world record for the mens 200m breaststroke, has since suggested on social media that the vigorous testing of Chinese athletes was an attempt to disturb their rhythm.
Peatys final will start at 8.44pm British Summer Time.
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