Adam Peaty opens season with 100m breaststroke win

World record holder Adam Peaty won the 100m breaststroke at the McCullagh International Open to open his 2020 season.

The 25-year-old, who in July 2019 became the first man to go under 57 seconds in the distance, eased home in 58.78 seconds in Bangor, Northern Ireland.

He finished ahead of British teammates James Wilby and Ross Murdoch.

It was the Olympic champion's first long-course race since the World Championships in July, and his first competition since the International Swimming League final which took place in a 25m short-course pool in December.

Peaty had been the only swimmer to go under 60 seconds in the heats on Thursday night (20 February).

Wilby, the 2019 World Championships silver medallist behind Peaty, finished the final in 59.91 and the only other man to swim faster than a minute in the competition.

Similar to how the swimming competitions will take place at Tokyo 2020, the heats and semi-finals in Bangor are being raced in evenings with finals in the mornings.

He told Swimming World: "I struggle to do 58 high towards the end of the season before a big meet like the worlds or Olympics, so to do that already is really good.

“I haven’t raced since worlds so I am building that confidence down the first 50, trying to see what it’s like on the last 50 because I got so used to short-course where it’s very different."