2024 World Aquatics Championships - Adam Peaty Vs the World: Who are the Olympic champion's rivals?
As the Olympic champion and double world record holder continues his return to top form, we take a look at the upcoming competitors who will hope to beat him at the 2024 World Championships and Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Swimming
Adam Peaty is chasing possibly the greatest win of his career: A third-consecutive Olympic gold medal in the 100m breaststroke at Paris 2024.
The feat in itself would be history-making: No man has ever managed to win three 100m breaststroke Olympic titles in a row.
But given the British swimmer's tumultuous most recent Olympic cycle, which included injury, burnout, mental health issues, and a break from the sport, this comeback victory would become even more significant.
However, despite Peaty’s improved mental state and decreasing times, his competition has never been stronger.
Below, we take a look at the double world record-holder's key rivals at the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships and beyond.
Nicolo Martinenghi (Italy)
A broken foot meant that Peaty was unable to compete at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, meaning that he would relinquish his 50m and 100m world titles for the first time since 2015.
In his absence, Italy's European champion Nicolo Martinenghi enjoyed a gladiatorial summer, clocking a 58-second effort in the 100m ahead of the World champs, where he went on to secure the 100m crown and silver in the non-Olympic 50m event.
Despite being so young, the Varese native’s performance did not come as a surprise, having won Olympic bronze in the 100m breaststroke at Tokyo 2020.
Martinenghi enjoys impeccable rhythm in the water, which helps him maintain speed over the longer sprint and react to the other swimmers around him when necessary.
One area of concern for the 24-year-old will be the emergence of several new rivals, which meant that he finished with silver in the 100m breaststroke at the 2023 World Championships, while he could only manage a fifth-place finish in the 50m.
Like Peaty, the Italian record-holder is set to take part at the 2024 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Nicolo Martinenghi of Team Italy celebrates after winning Gold in the Men's 100m Breaststroke final on day two of the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships at Duna Arena on June 19, 2022 in Budapest, Hungary.
Nic Fink (USA)
Experienced and consistent, Team USA’s Nic Fink seems to be getting better with age.
The 30-year-old initially made his name as one of the world's top short course swimmers, winning seven gold medals, and setting the Americas record over the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke.
But since 2022, the New Jersey native, who also works as an engineer, has wound back the years and started to make a major impact in the long course too.
At the 2022 World Championships , he landed the 50m world title with a national record, and bronze in the 100m. A year later in Fukuoka, he won silver medals in those two events, and dominated the 2023 World Cup season.
Fink, also scheduled to compete at the 2024 World Championships, is in the twilight of his swimming career, but will be confident of making the podium with his ever-improving top-end speed.
Nic Fink of Team United States competes in the Men's 100m Breaststroke Final on day two of the Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships on July 24, 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan.
Arno Kamminga (Netherlands)
Another world-class athlete signed up for Doha 2024 is Arno Kamminga.
The flying Dutchman rose to prominence in 2021 as the second swimmer ever to break the 58-second barrier in the 100m breaststroke after Peaty.
At the Olympic Games later that year, Kamminga won silver in the 100m event behind the Brit, before securing another silver in the 200m event. He looked set to dominate the sport when Peaty took a break.
However, the Katwijk man also endured a tough next Olympic cycle, suffering from illness and burnout in 2022.
Despite arriving for the 2023 Worlds in Fukuoka with no winter block of training, he was still able to secure an historic three-way tie for silver with Martinenghi and Fink in the 100m breaststroke - a testament to his enduring class.
Blessed with natural endurance, Kamminga’s key strength in the 100m is his fast finish, but at 28 years old he could also be approaching his career twilight.
Silver medallists Nicolo Martinenghi of Team Italy, Arno Kamminga of Team Netherlands and Nic Fink of Team United States pose during the medal ceremony for the Men's 100m Breaststroke Final on day two of the Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships on July 24, 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan.
Qin Haiyang (People’s Republic of China)
Finally, to China’s Qin Haiyang, who announced his arrival at the top tier of men’s breaststroke swimming in style with an unprecedented clean sweep of the three breaststroke events at the 2023 World Championships.
Already the 200m world record holder, he knows what it takes to be the GOAT, and has made no secret of his desire to not only take Peaty’s Olympic title, but also break his 50 and 100 metre world records.
Qin, who will not be competing in Doha, is 24 years old, making him five years younger than Peaty, and he could potentially dominate the sport for years to come
However, his time in the limelight has been relatively short, and the Brit may hold an advantage in his experience on the Olympic stage.
Gold medallist Haiyang Qin of Team China poses during the medal ceremony for Men's 200m Breaststroke Final on day six of the 2023 World Aquatics Championships on July 28, 2023 in Fukuoka, Japan.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met him as in said hello so we’ll get down to that, see how that goes," Peaty told Swimming World Magazine of Qin.
“I knew ever since I broke that world record that people would be sniffing my blood, this is no surprise to me at all.
“I’m like – you know what, I’m not about that anymore. I’m just going to let my swimming do the talking and to get the results I want, that may take half a year, right to the Olympic Games.
“For me to do that I need a constant challenge so I am kind of happy actually that I’m going to have some good people there.”