Adam Peaty twirls an AirPod case between his fingers relentlessly as he talks about the demons and doubts that have enveloped him.
He is Britain’s greatest swimmer, a global superstar of the pool who won Olympic gold in 2016 and two more in 2021, recording times for the 100m breaststroke that seemed outrageous to anyone else.
But at 28, with Paris 2024 on the horizon, there have been times over the past two years when Peaty has given in to what he calls the devil on his shoulder. Last month he withdrew from racing, citing mental health struggles.
“It’s been an incredibly lonely journey,” he says, speaking from Spain, where he is at a training camp designed with his mood in mind as much as
