You know Adam Peaty, right? The British swimming heavyweight is considered the king of breaststroke. With a career spent stacking medals and titles, Adam Peaty checks all the boxes for being one of the greatest swimmers ever plunged into the pool. The eight World Championships and the whopping sixteen European titles make Adam a legend who might not have an equal in years to come.

He has been shattering world records like they mean nothing. Thinking of the 50m or the 100m breaststroke? Yep, Adam Peaty has nailed them with his record runtime of 25.95 seconds and 57.13, respectively. With so many bells and whistles to his name, Peaty was a hot favorite for the Paris Olympics. His previous golden run in the 2016 Rio and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics was expected to continue at the Paris Olympics as well. That would have allowed him to claim the historic golden treble in the same swimming event as Michel Phelps.

Everyone was expecting another Peaty masterclass. All seemed set except for a mild sore throat troubling Adam Peaty. With high hopes, Peaty plunged into the water at the Paris La Defense Arena, but the 100m breaststroke race turned out to be a big upset for him. Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi dashed past him in the nick of time to the finish line and, with that, also snatched the gold from the British swimming sensation. Peaty lost the race by a mere 0.02 seconds, but that was enough to push him to second place at the podium.

However, something more sinister was hiding behind the scenes. Remember the sore throat that we mentioned earlier; it turned out Peaty was suffering from COVID-19. That was a huge blow to Peaty’s campaign at the Paris Olympics since he was bedridden for three days. Although he returned for the 4×100-meter medley relay, the infection has sucked out much of his strength. Team GB finished fourth, quashing the hope of Adam Peaty to take another medal home.

Peaty opened up about the whole COVID experience at the Paris Olympics on times.com. He revealed how the infection robbed him of his strength and vigor and had him struggling even after ten days. He said, “I’m still a bit poorly,” he says. “I can’t really hear out of my left ear; I’ve still got a chest infection. I got hit hard with that illness. I was completely wiped out.”

This unexpected illness not only derailed his Olympic plans but also seems to have thrown a wrench in his future plans.

Is Adam Peaty Considering Retirement?

Adam Peaty has an illustrious professional career that spans over a decade. At 29, Peaty has stacked medals across all major swimming events, including gold at the 2016 Rio and 2021 Tokyo Olympics. However, the Covid Stricken Paris Olympics experience was a big letdown for him.

It has clearly taken a toll on the swimming legend. While he has made clear that he isn’t going to hang his goggles for good, Peaty has announced a two-year break from competitive swimming. He intends to utilize the period in training and then count his cards at the end of the break. Will the Los Angeles Olympics witness the magic of Adam Peaty? Do tell us in the comment section.