Adam Peaty on his return to the pool, LA 2028 and Gordon Ramsay's wedding speech

TL;DR

Adam Peaty returns to the London Aquatics Centre, aiming for his fourth Olympic Games in LA 2028. He acknowledges the next two years will be challenging, focusing on achieving success in Los Angeles.

Key points

Adam Peaty returns to competitive swimming
Aiming for LA 2028 Olympics
Next two years will be challenging
Almost quit after Paris Olympics
Focus on winning in Los Angeles

Adam PeatyLA 2028Paris Olympics

Adam Peaty is back for more, again.

The three-time Olympic champion, who almost quit the sport before the Paris Olympics and considered doing so after taking silver in the French capital, returns to the London Aquatics Centre on Tuesday.

It is a key step on the road he hopes will lead to a fourth Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 - and possibly another Olympic gold.

"The next two years are probably going to be the hardest of my career," Peaty tells BBC Breakfast.

"There probably won't be much winning, but the one win that does matter is LA."

Adam Peaty in the pool wearing a red swimming cap. He is not swimming, he is leaning on a floating lane divider

Image source, Getty Images

It is almost a year since Peaty, who got married while swimming took a back seat, confirmed he will go again.

He made the decision after it was confirmed the 50m breaststroke event would be added to the schedule in 2028. It gives Peaty a second shot at more individual golds - the chance to add the 50m title to the 100m medals he won in 2016 and 2021.

He has raced here and there in recent months with mixed results, but will compete over both distances at this week's British Championships - a crucial step which he hopes will lead to the Commonwealth Games, World and European Championships and America's west coast.

"It's like tasting an amazing steak and then having to go back to a McDonald's burger," he says.

"The Olympics is the one that excites me. That is the one that really gets me out of bed every day, the one I dream of.

"We have to set that path now.

"Two years out, it is about how much racing and experience can we gather to give the best performance in LA."

Peaty confident of avoiding burnout repeat

Peaty was beaten to a third successive gold in Paris by Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi, having contracted coronavirus in the days before the final.

"With the cards I was dealt I swam out of my skin," he says. "I shouldn't have got a silver medal."

Before the Paris Games, Peaty shared his struggles with injury and his mental health, describing the period as a "self-destructive spiral".

He says he has not allowed himself to think about what another Olympic medal might mean but remains confident similar issues will not return as he chases more success in LA.