Olympic champ and Strictly star Adam Peaty celebrated the women in his life – both his girlfriend and mother – with an Instagram post today acknowledging the “tough” role that they have taken on. He paid tribute to their sacrifices, which had allowed him to shine.
27-year-old swimmer and dancer Adam Peaty thanked the two leading ladies of his world in view of over 590,000 Instagram followers.
“Happy Mother’s Day to the incredible women who have raised me and now raising my boy,” he announced.
“Thank you for giving me every opportunity to be the best person and athlete I can be.”
He added: “People don’t realise how tough it is to be a person behind an athlete, so thank you for supporting this demanding journey.”
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He addressed his mother: “Mum, thank you for the 4am starts and 11pm finishes and giving up all your weekends, the driving all over the country and sacrificing all so I could get faster.”
Then, to girlfriend Eiri, he wrote: “Thank you for taking care of [our son] George every single day so that I can chase what I need to, you are the best mother anyone could ask for.”
He accompanied the post with a string of touching photos of himself with his mother and Eiri with George, emphasising the heroic and often selfless nature of raising a child while helping them achieve their goals and ambitions.
He also gave a special shout-out to Eiri for her role in cooking delicious meals.
Adam has had a glittering career as an Olympic swimmer, achieving World Champion status eight times, European Champion status sixteen times and even reaching the Commonwealth title on three occasions.
He has not been beaten in 50 metre or 100 metre breaststroke events since 2014, marking an eight year stint of excellent athleticism.
He has achieved the 50 metre race in a mere 26 seconds, cementing his position as one of the world’s most celebrated sportsmen.
However maintaining his place at the top of his field hasn’t come easy.
In fact, he trains multiple times per day, starting with a gruelling two hour fitness session before the sun has risen, at 5am.
While others are sleeping, he is in the gym lifting weights and continually trying to improve his strength.
He hasn’t always been a natural – in fact Richard Pilcher, one of his coaches at the City of Derby swimming club where he trained aged 14, recalls that his breaststroke was at that time less skilled than expected for someone of his age.
He even recalled to the Guardian that Adam was initially put “in one of the lower lanes with younger girls when he first arrived”.
Now, of course, he has improved his technique and speed immensely – and, according to a grateful Adam, his chances have been boosted by the supportive women in his life.
@simona_fns wrote in the comments section of his Instagram post: “Lovely heartfelt words Adam, have a lovely day with your family xx.”
@gemmgarland added: “Wow, your little boy is the double of you when you were younger! HMD to your people!”
@marielberle concurred: “Very well said Adam. A mother’s love has no limit. We do everything to make life a little easier. Enjoy the rest of your day!”