Australia’s Emma McKeon won six golds at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham AFP | Oli SCARFF
Swimmer Summer McIntosh celebrates with one of 92 medals won by Canadian athletes at the Commonwealth Games. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Canada entered the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England with the goal of finishing in the top three of the medal table.
Consider it mission accomplished. Canadian athletes combined for 92 podium appearances, capped off by Michelle Li’s badminton silver medal as competition wrapped up earlier today. The total fell only behind Australia’s 178 and England’s 176.
Hollie Naughton, who became the first Canadian ever to climb the squash podium when she scored silver, earned the honour of being named Canada’s flag-bearer.
Canada leaves England with 10 more medals than it won at the previous Commonwealth Games in 2018. Of the 92 medals, 26 were gold — a whopping 11 more than four years ago. Even more startlingly, swimmers accounted for seven of those gold medals. And it was 15-year-old Summer McIntosh, fresh off a breakout performance at the world championships, leading the way once again with six podium appearances (two gold, three silver, one bronze) and a Canadian record in the 400-metre individual medley. Race walker Evan Dunfee, who won Olympic bronze in the 50-kilometre event, set the national 10k mark en route to gold. Reigning champions Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes (beach volleyball) and Maude Charron (weightlifting) successfully defended their titles. And every single Canadian wrestler will return home with hardware for a total of 12 podium appearances.
For many Canadian summer athletes, the whirlwind since last spring, when preparation and qualification for the Tokyo Olympics reached top gear, has finally passed. Some swimmers, for example, experienced two national trials, an Olympics, the world championships and the Commonwealth Games — five separate events at which they were expected to peak.
Now, there’s some breathing room. It’s possible you may see McIntosh at the world junior championships in early September, though it’s fair to wonder how much she’d gain from racing against diminished competition. Otherwise, the 2022 International Swimming League season was cancelled due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The World Cup series begins in October, with a stop in Toronto at the end of the month.
On the other hand, track athletes will return to the stretch run of their Diamond League season. Canadian and Commonwealth Games shot put champion Sarah Mitton placed third at a meet in Poland over the weekend as she pursues a spot in the Sept. 7-8 final in Switzerland. The third-last event ahead of the final goes on Wednesday in Monaco. Canada’s Aaron Brown, who skipped the Commonwealth Games, is entered in the 200m while Django Lovett will compete in the high jump. Andre De Grasse, who anchored Canada’s golden 4x100m relay squad at worlds, recently said he was unsure if he’d return to the track this season amid a lingering foot injury. Live action from Monaco is available across CBC Sports platforms beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
And if you’re still hungry for Olympic sports, then you’re in luck: the Canada Games, an inter-provincial youth competition taking place in Niagara, Ont., this year, began yesterday and is also available across CBC Sports platforms through the closing ceremony on Aug. 21.
Australia topped the medals table at Birmingham 2022 with 67 gold medals ©Getty Images
Australia have topped the Commonwealth Games medals table for the 14th time after beating hosts England to first place at Birmingham 2022.
The country finished on 67 gold, 57 silver and 54 bronzes for a total of 178 medals while England’s 57 gold, 66 silver, 53 bronzes saw them finish on 176 overall.
Australia were just two golds shy of their haul from Melbourne 2006, while the performance marks the seventh out of eight past Commonwealth Games they have topped the table.
Highlights for the Australians included the netball team regaining the gold medal after they lost it to England at Gold Coast 2018.
The Diamonds got the better of Roses this time in the semi-finals with a commanding 60-51 win before breaking Jamaican hearts in the Sunshine Girls’ first final which clinched Australia’s 1,000th Commonwealth Games gold.
Swimming was extremely fruitful for the Australians as they picked up 25 gold, 21 silver and 19 bronze medals.
They also won gold in the Commonwealth Games’ inaugural T20 cricket tournament after beating India by nine runs.
England’s 176 medals was a new record total, beating the Glasgow 2014 overall figure by two.
The women’s hockey team won the country’s first Commonwealth Games gold medal in the sport after defeating Australia 2-1 in the final.
South Africa dropped from sixth place in Gold Coast 2018 to ninth after finishing with seven gold medals, a drop of six.
Cyprus’ gold medal tally fell from eight to two which saw them fall out of the top 10 to 17th place.
A downfall in gymnastics was the main reason for the decrease as they won six in Australia to just one in these Games.
England’s team meanwhile won 11 gymnastics golds in rhythmic and artistic disciplines, which put them eighth in the medals table behind Nigeria on 12 and above Wales’ five.
Canada finished out the overall top three in the medals table with 26 gold medals.
During last year’s Tokyo Olympics, Ian Thorpe was asked whether Emma McKeon would win more medals than him. Thorpe, regarded as Australia’s greatest swimmer and a genuine superstar during his glory days, didn’t hesitate.
“She should win more medals than me,” he said on breakfast radio. “I don’t know what colour they’re going to be, though.”
Thorpe, famous for anchoring the Australians to Sydney Olympics glory and for his captivating races against fellow champions Pieter van den Hoogenband and Michael Phelps, is an excellent judge. Not only did McKeon go on to eclipse Thorpe’s record haul of nine Olympic medals (McKeon has 11, five of them gold), but the 28-year-old from Wollongong has over the past week become the most successful Commonwealth Games athlete.
“Super fish” McKeon swam her way to five gold, one silver and one bronze medal in Birmingham. This achievement came less than a year after she became Australia’s most successful Olympian and the first female swimmer to win seven or more Olympic medals at a single Olympic Games.
Her success is something for the history books, but how does Australia’s “golden GOAT” compare to the rest?
1. McKeon v Commonwealth Games swimmers
McKeon has dominated the pool at her three Commonwealth Games so far and now has 20 medals to her name. Her seventhis year were more than enough to propel her a comfortable five medals ahead of the athlete with the second-highest medal tally, Australian swimming legend Susie O’Neill.
Other nations don’t even come close: the top non-Australian contender – England’s James Guy – holds 10 total Commonwealth Games medals, half of McKeon’s haul.
McKeon entered the Games in Birmingham short of the record of most gold medals, which was jointly held by her fellow Australian swimmers O’Neill, Thorpe and Leisel Jones.McKeon catapulted herself ahead and now boasts four more gold medals than the previous record-holders – and a whopping nine more than England’s Benjamin Proud, who has the most gold medals out of the other nations.
2. McKeon v gold-winning Commonwealth Games athletes
McKeon holds her own not only against other swimmers, but also against athletes competing in all other sports at the Games.
McKeon has won five more gold medals than the next most successful gold medallists in other disciplines on the list.
They include Canadian diver Alexandre Despatie, who won nine, as well as India’s Jaspal Rana (shooting) and England’s Bill Hoskyns (fencing). You can see the full list below.
3. McKeon v total medal hauls at Commonwealth Games
McKeon doesn’t only have a haul of gold medals, although they make up the majority of her total.
The chart below tracks the total number of medals won at the Commonwealth Games since 1994 across different sports. McKeon has raked in a grand total of 20 medals, two more than the next three most highly decorated athletes.
She dominates in the gold, but sits around the average mark in bronze, with South Africa’s Chad le Clos winning seven across his four Games. Australian shooter Phillip Adams overtakes McKeon in the silver by eight.
4. McKeon v swimmers at other major championships
By now, you may be wondering what happened to Phelps, the American swimmer who took the world by storm when he won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. Isn’t he swimming’s GOAT?
Quick answer: yes, he is. Phelps remains an icon of the pool, but how does McKeon track beside him and other swimmers beyond the Commonwealth Games?
It is hard to beat someone like Phelps, who has raked in nearly 100 medals in total over his swimming career. But McKeon holds her own despite the strength of the competition, winning an impressive total of 70 medals, not including her Commonwealth Games haul.
Phelps hung up his goggles soon after the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, whereas McKeon likely has a few more years of competition left.
The Australian may still have time to catch up to the mega fish – or at least American Ryan Lochte, who is only seven medals ahead – something that is especially likely if McKeon continues hauling in the medals at the rate she has been in the past year.
5. McKeon v other record-breakers in the pool
It’s hopefully becoming clear how the “Wollongong wonder” rose to swimming supremacy. But McKeon doesn’t only win medals, she breaks records.
Although McKeon did not swim any record-breaking laps in Birmingham, she has smashed through 12 world records elsewhere, including three FINA long- and short-course titles, six Commonwealth Games records and three Olympic records.
Compared to other athletes in the water, McKeon tracks nicely, equalling Thorpe, doubling O’Neill and quadrupling Jones.
As for international comparisons, butterfly and backstroke powerhouse Lochte exceeds McKeon by seven records, mainly down to the fact that the majority of his FINA records were broken in the short-course competitions. Beyond Lochte, McKeon powers ahead of every other swimmer – even the illustrious Phelps.
What makes her such a wonder in the water is the number of different events she swims in. Rather than having one or two pet events (as is the case for many swimmers), McKeon has won gold in 11 different events. This includes relays, but is still more than any other swimmer listed and thus emblematic of how accomplished she is across the board.
Nell Geraets is a reporter at The Age.Connect via Twitter or email.
South Africa’s Lara van Niekerk (C) on the podium after winning a gold medal. Image: Twitter @TeamSA2024
The swimming contingent of Team South Africa from the Commonwealth Games arrived to a heroes’ welcome at the O.R Tambo International airport after flying the country’s flag high in Birmingham. Among them were double gold medallist, Lara Van Niekerk, and teenage sensation, Pieter Coetze who won three medals.
The swimming team comprised of young swimmers who have set their sights on representing the country for many more years to come including at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Family and friends were at the airport hours before the team landed in the country to welcome them. And when the team did finally arrive it was given just the celebration they deserved after doing so well in Birmingham. Van Niekerk, Coetze, Charl Du Toit, Erin Gallagher and the others were all happy with the reception they got.
“It is really nice, it is teammates that we swim with that are here family and friends, it’s amazing because even though swimming is like you swim your own race, everyone here gels well so it’s been a really good trip,” says Charl Du Toit, silver medalist.
” I felt so much loved from all the friends and my whole squad was here and they actually came from school to support me here. It feels like I make everyone really proud,” says lara Van Niekerk, double gold medalist.
Van Niekerk’s coach, who has been with her for more than a decade, believes doing well at the Games was a brilliant start of the 19-year old’s international career.
“She’s been training with me since she was eight years old so its eleven years of preparation basically. This was a good start to her international career, hopefully from here things can get better and better,” says Eugene Da Ponte, swimming coach.
Teenage sensation, Pieter Coetze competed at the last year’s Olympic Games although things didn’t go that well. But the 18-year old used the experience he gained in Tokyo to do well in Birmingham and will use every other opportunity to prepare himself for the next Olympic Games.
“The Olympics is the peak of everything this is just a stepping stone to the Olympics. Everything else from now will just be stepping stones. 2024 Olympics is the main focus,” says Coetze, three medal winner.
The swimmers won four golds, four silvers and three bronze medals contributing 11 medals in the 22 Team South Africa has so far won.
Australia dominated the swimming at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. AFP/Andy Buchanan
Emma McKeon, Ariarne Titmus and the rest of Australia’s swimming team are heading home after a stellar Commonwealth Games with their eyes firmly set on the 2024 Olympics.
Australia won 25 of 52 golds in the Birmingham pool, with their established stars supported by an exciting cast of up-and-coming talents, including teenager Mollie O’Callaghan.
McKeon was the headline performer. She won six golds, a bronze and a silver to take her career Games tally to 20 medals — more than any other athlete in Commonwealth history.
Her 14 golds are also a record.
Titmus swept the women’s 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle events and was also part of the winning team in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
Kaylee McKeown won four golds while Elijah Winnington was one of the standout male performers.
Australia did not have the US team to contend with in Birmingham. Yet the quality and depth of Australia’s squad, with swimmers who skipped the World Championships in Budapest in June returning, will make their greatest rivals take notice two years away from the Olympics.
Titmus, speaking a day after the end of the swimming, said fierce competition within the squad pushed them to greater heights.
The 21-year-old, who won 200m and 400m freestyle gold at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, said it was often tougher to qualify for the Australian team than to reach Commonwealth finals.
“Just to get onto the team is a task in itself and people like Mollie are up and coming and pushing you along and it’s great motivation,” she said.
“And as I’m getting older I feel as though I’m becoming more and more hunted but that’s a good thing I think. It keeps me on my toes, keeps me motivated and I’m excited to see how much better I can get.”
Australia’s Ariarne Titmus has won three freestyle golds at the 2022 Commonwealth Games AFP | Oli SCARFF
Titmus said her focus had switched immediately after Tokyo to the 2024 Olympics in Paris — where she is expected to go head to head again with US star Katie Ledecky.
“There’s always hype around it because it’s such an amazing rivalry,” said the Australian, who skipped the world championships to focus on the Commonwealths.
“Who would have thought that two women would be swimming as fast as we are over the 400m at the same time?
“But I think it’s good also having younger girls coming up. I used to be one of those younger ones who was coming up so it’s great for the sport.”
– Rising stars –
O’Callaghan won four gold medals and two silvers in Birmingham, including the 100m freestyle.
The 18-year-old, who came away from last year’s Covid-delayed Olympics with two relay golds and won the 100m individual freestyle in Budapest in June, said she now felt she belonged on the team.
She too said she was focused on Paris.
“Last year was about learning and getting experience. I absolutely loved being on a relay team,” she said.
“I’ve gained so much experience and so much support I just can’t wait.”
Mollie O’Callaghan is an up-and-coming star for Australia AFP | ANDY BUCHANAN
O’Callaghan said the great strength of the Australian team was that “there’s always going to be someone coming up”.
“I guess it’s the support, and the previous swimmers and the current swimmers who guide us and I guess the depth in Australia definitely pushes us to do more and achieve more and I think it’s mainly those factors that make us so great in Australia.”
Team spokesman Ian Hanson said another reason for Australia’s success was their coaching.
“The people that don’t get the credit in all this are the coaches,” he said. “I think we’ve got a system of coaching Down Under that’s come from a great tradition of great coaches.
“I think these athletes are on a performance pathway to Paris. We were the last team to leave that pool last night. They had a big team meeting.
“The other teams walked past them and saw what was going on in the Australian camp and the unity in that team and the comradeship is just extraordinary but you don’t get these results unless you work your butt off.”
Source AFP
Ariarne Titmus credits the Australian Swim teams success to their camaraderie.(Reuters: Stefan Wermuth)
As the curtain closed on another stellar Commonwealth Games swimming campaign from the Australian Dolphins, one of the stars of the team has revealed how Kyle Chalmers’s unwanted media attention and mental health struggles had rippled through the squad she describes as “a family”.
Key points:
- Kyle Chalmers has been open about his mental health struggles throughout the Birmingham Games
- Ariarne Titmus says intense media scrutiny has the potential to impact the whole team
- The Dolphins won 65 medals, the best haul Australian swimmers have ever produced at the Commonwealth Games
“I think we all kind of feel part of it,” said Ariarne Titmus, moments after winning her fourth gold medal of the week, for the 400m Freestyle.
“Because we are all so close, we are such a close team, and I think that’s why we perform so well, because we have each others’ backs.
“I think it potentially can affect us emotionally because they’re our friends, they’re teammates. We’re like a family and we don’t like seeing people upset and put through duress.
“And we’ve come out here and done our best and done our country proud and I think the swimming does the talking. We’ve killed it this week and I hope that Australia is proud of our performance and we’ve done our absolute best for the country and we’re going to go home with some extra luggage.”
Chalmers has been the centre of intense scrutiny over his personal life. Then, on Saturday night, it came to a dramatic head, when after anchoring the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay to a gold-medal victory, he faced more questioning over an “apparent” rift within the Australian swim team.
Despite going through what he described as “the most-challenging, probably 48 hours of my swimming career”, he produced an incredible swim in 100m freestyle final days later, to claim the gold medal.
He climbed onto the lane ropes and put a finger to his mouth, after winning.
On Thursday morning (AEST), his Commonwealth Games campaign came to an end in the 4×100 medley relay, with Chalmers swimming the final leg and Australia finishing second, just 0.08 behind England.
Chalmers said he was “relieved” the week was now over.
“For me, everyday — like we say — is day one,” he said.
“So it’s all about getting yourself up and performing every time you pull the Australian cap on, especially tonight swimming in relays.
“It’s my favourite thing and the reason why I do the sport is to be a part of the relays … so, for me, it’s all about pushing everything aside, racing every time I stand up, doing my absolute best.
“And, obviously, this next week is probably going to be reflecting on it and looking at all the positives that have come. There’s so many things to be grateful for: being part of the team, it’s special.”
“And we are all so close and it’s been a very, very successful week in the pool for us and, hopefully, we’re able to celebrate a little bit tonight as a team and, obviously, we all depart tomorrow. It’s been great.”
The Dolphins head back home with 65 medals they’ve won in the pool: 25 gold, 21 silver and 19 bronze.
It’s the best gold medal haul Australia has ever produced at Commonwealth Games in swimming.
“The team has really gotten around each other. This could possibly [have] been one of the best Comm Games medal tallies from the swim team, so I think it’s unreal to be a part of and the whole swim team has done so well,” 4×100 mixed relay silver medallist Matt Temple said.
Australia’s Kiah Melverton (left) won bronze with rising Canadian star Summer McIntosh second.Credit:Getty
Even at the Commonwealth Games, minus the might of Team USA and the enduring wonder that is Katie Ledecky, there is no such thing as an easy night at the office for Ariarne Titmus in her pet 400m freestyle event.
The Australian showed the kind of qualities that have made her a modern great to win her fourth gold medal of the meet on Wednesday night (Thursday morning AEST) in Birmingham, with the 400m win a worthy addition to the 200m, 800m and 4x200m relay jewels already in her keeping.
After her brilliance in Tokyo, expectation now weighs heavily on the 21-year-old, as it has been for Ledecky for so long. Whenever she races, people expect world records to either be broken or threatened within an inch of their existence.
She wasn’t close to her own mark (3:56.40) this time but 3:58.06 was a mighty swim just a day after her 800m victory. It represented the fourth fastest 400m of her career and seventh-fastest of all time, with that list being dominated by Titmus and Ledecky.
But that won’t be the case for long because another name beckons. Summer McIntosh, the 15-year-old Canadian, refused to go away and produced the second sub-four minute swim of her career to take silver in 3:59.32, with Australia’s Kiah Melverton winning bronze.
Titmus turned up the heat on McIntosh in the middle hundreds and was able to earn a body-length break, but no more. McIntosh has so much improvement to come and Titmus and coach Dean Boxall not only recognise the threat but welcome it.
The run towards Paris and their clash at the next Olympics will be mesmerising. For now, Titmus is still the middle-distance titan and more than content with her week of work.
“I’m really happy. This meet was more about coming here and having fun and racing. I’m happy to get the job done, she (McIntosh) pushed me the whole way, I knew she would be there,” Titmus said.
“The back half of this program has been really challenging with the 800m last night. I didn’t really have any expectations, I just wanted to do my best and mentally be there. I think I did that.”
Most observers think the Commonwealth Games is a walk in the park for Australia’s top swimmers but Titmus sliced that another way. She said the immense expectation to boss the racing in the pool conjured pressure of a different kind.
“In Australia, we pride ourselves on success in the pool at the Commonwealth Games. It feels like there is more pressure here to win than the Olympics sometimes. Performing under that pressure is tough; I felt the expectation, especially after last year,” Titmus said.
“I’m excited to get the job done for me and for the country. I definitely got pushed more than I did on the Gold Coast (2018) but that’s great, it means the sport is moving. I’m not really one of those youngsters that is up and coming anymore, I guess, they are chasing me.”
Unlike Tokyo, Titmus had some familiar faces in the stand. Her family, with father Steve and mum Robyn leading the charge, have lapped up every moment at the Sandwell Aquatic Centre, resplendent in their ‘Team Titmus’ shirts that have more than a touch of mid-90s Australia A cricket about them.
It was fitting they could share in her delight because she remains one of the genuine global superstars of a sport that has well and truly emerged from its post-Michael Phelps slumber. Knowing her drive for greatness, Titmus has just scratched the surface of what she is capable of delivering in her next chapter.
Erin Gallagher of South Africa won the silver medal in the Women’s 50m Butterfly during at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Picture: @SouthAfricanSportsImages
Team South Africa finished their Commonwealth Games campaign in Birmingham with four golds, four silvers and three bronze medals.
It was a quiet final night of competition at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre with only Rebecca Meder, Duné Coetzee and the women’s 4x100m medley relay team in action.
Having not expected to even reach the final, Meder finished eighth in the 50m backstroke in 28.66 with Canada’s world champion Kylie Masse taking the gold in a Games record time of 27.31.
Coetzee was also eighth in the 400m freestyle in 4:15.53 while Australia’s world record holder Ariarne Titmus took the gold in a Games record time of 3:58.06.
The South African quartet of Meder, Lara van Niekerk, Erin Gallagher and Aimee Canny then just missed out on a medal in the 4x100m medley relay, wrapping up the competition with an African record of 3:59.63 to finish fourth.
Coach Rocco Meiring said he was pleased with how the South African team had performed in Birmingham, particularly with an eye on the Paris Olympics in 2024.
“I think the team did exceptionally well. There’s definitely a new, young group of swimmers that have been identified a couple of years ago already and competed in the 2017 and 2019 World Junior Championships and they are coming through very strongly,” he said.
“There’s a very nice blend of more experienced, older swimmers and young guns with a lot of talent coming through. So it’s now to consolidate the programme for the next 16 months to be able to get them to qualify successfully for Paris.”
Meiring added that this impressive performance in Birmingham will act as a boost to the team and those at home still looking to compete in Pars.
“I think everybody that watched and the ones that competed here are leaving this competition encouraged and inspired and that is exactly what the mission was. We need to get inspiration from the Commonwealth Games to push for the final qualification going into Paris.”
Team SA swimming medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games:
Gold
Lara van Niekerk (50 and 100m breaststroke)
Tatjana Schoenmaker (200m breaststroke)
Pieter Coetzé (100m backstroke)
Silver
Tatjana Schoenmaker (100m breaststroke)
Erin Gallagher (50m butterfly)
Pieter Coetzé (50m backstroke)
Chad le Clos (200m butterfly)
Bronze
Kaylene Corbett (200m breaststroke)
Pieter Coetzé (200m backstroke)
Christian Sadie (S7 50m freestyle)
Supplied by Swimming South Africa
Ariarne Titmus (left) won gold, with Kiah Melverton (right) taking bronze in the 400m final.(Getty Images: Mark Kolbe)
Australia’s swimmers have ended their Commonwealth Games with three more gold medals, as attention turns towards track and field, and team sports head towards the pointy end of competition.
The swimmers brought home 65 medals — 25 gold, 21 silver and 19 bronze — which is more than half of Australia’s total of 123 after six days.
As they have done throughout the first week in Birmingham, the women’s swim team dominated the final day in the pool, closing out the program with gold in the 4x100m medley relay for Kaylee McKeown, Chelsea Hodges, Emma McKeon and Mollie O’Callaghan.
McKeon ended her remarkable meet leading the individual medal tally with eight — including six gold, a silver and a bronze — while O’Callaghan ended her first Commonwealth Games with five gold medals and two silver. McKeown finished with six medals, including four gold.
Sam Short also took out the men’s 1,500m final and Ariarne Titmus added the Commonwealth 400m title to her famous Olympic gold in the event.
The Dolphins won nine medals on day six, which also included a thrilling silver medal for the men’s 4x100m medley team, with Kyle Chalmers touched out for gold by 0.08 of a second by England’s Tom Dean.
Commonwealth Games – Swimming – Men’s 50m Breaststroke – Medal Ceremony – Sandwell Aquatics Centre, Birmingham, Britain – August 2, 2022 Gold Medallist England’s Adam Peaty celebrates on the podium during the medal ceremony REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov
England’s Adam Peaty said winning 50 metres breaststroke gold at the Commonwealth Games had helped him rediscover his spark – just days after he said he had lost it.
The 27-year-old triple Olympic gold medallist clocked 26.76 seconds on Tuesday to claim his first Commonwealth Games title in the event, ahead of Australia’s Sam Williamson and Scotland’s Ross Murdoch.
Peaty had said he was “heartbroken” and missing his usual spark after finishing fourth in Sunday’s 100m final, an event which he won at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games. read more
“I had two options this morning — I either fight or don’t fight,” said Peaty, who had to miss the world championships in June after breaking a bone in his foot.
“Everyone who knows me, knows I fight.
“That means so much to me, because what I have been through the last five years. I lost my spark towards the beginning of the week and I have it back now.
“A lot of people have got to understand that I reached the bottom of the bottom yesterday and to bring myself up with the crowd in my own mind and that is the result. I am so glad I got that loss earlier in the week because these wins feel so much more alive and so much better.”
Peaty also joked that he could “retire now” after adding the elusive medal to his collection.
