Adam Ramsay-Peaty bounces back to win 50m breaststroke heat - but should retirement be on the cards after Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games?
Published 26/07/2026 at 13:02 GMT+1
React to this story
Adam Ramsay-Peaty bounced back from the disappointment of only winning a bronze medal to earn a spot in the men's 50m breaststroke semi-finals at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games by winning his heat on Sunday morning.
'He'll be pleased with that' - Ramsay-Peaty pips Nowacki to win 50m breaststroke heat
Video credit: TNT Sports
England's star swimmer won his heat with a time of 27.27 to pip his apprentice Filip Nowacki, who finished in second place.
It was a reminder to the world that Ramsay-Peaty is one of the best in the business after he settled for bronze in the men’s 100m breaststroke final behind Nowacki from Jersey and the winner, Australia's Sam Williamson.
Following the race, the world record holder was in tears during his post-race interview with TNT Sports.
"I think it’s hard because I know how hard I work," Ramsay-Peaty explained. "I know the s*** I’ve been through, which is no fault of my own to be honest.
"But it does take a toll. The choices I’ve made over the last few months have been hard ones. But I’m happy at the same time that I can get here.
"I didn’t quit in Paris. But I deserve more. I f****** worked for it. There’s a lot of unanswered questions, which is about right because we haven’t had time to debrief.
- How Nowacki went from Ramsay-Peaty’s apprentice to history maker
- Para swimmer Rogers wants to make 10-year-old self 'proud' in 200m butterfly
"But that is sport and it can break you and it can make you. You can have the highest of highs and the lowest of lows."
With competition in the pool as fierce as ever, and with the likes of his apprentice Nowacki making history for Jersey, would it be the right time for Ramsay-Peaty to walk away from the sport?
'There’s still that level of impostor syndrome'
Speaking in the TNT Sports studio in Glasgow, expert Michael Jamieson praised Ramsay-Peaty for the honesty shown in his interview.
"It was great to get that level of insight," Jamieson said. "I’m a big fan of that level of authenticity, and giving the viewers a bit of an insight into their journey and preparation.
"Adam’s career is legendary, he’s won everything. It takes immense bravery and courage to still have the desire and hunger to compete and win more.
"But you could see last night that there’s still that level of impostor syndrome where he is questioning: ‘Am I still capable of performing at this level?’
"He’s 11 or 12 years older than Filip Nowacki, who’s at a completely different stage in his career."
Fellow pundit and Olympian Iwan Thomas also discussed whether it was time for the swimming great to retire after he claimed a silver medal at the Paris Olympics two years ago following a break from the sport.
"I’m not saying that Adam should retire, but when you’re as successful as he has been, his self-confidence has to be sky-high," Thomas explained to TNT Sports.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2026/07/26/image-d8a43569-aaca-4b79-89a4-e9cc7fa3deab-85-2560-1440.jpeg)
'Adam's career is legendary' - Jamieson, Thomas, Orie discuss Ramsay-Peaty future
Video credit: TNT Sports
"But there comes a day when you have to look in the mirror and say, I haven't swum those times for two or three years now.
"When you’re surrounded by a team who believe in you so much and want you to achieve, it’s very hard for your team to take you to one side and say, listen, I think it’s time. I’m not saying it is for him, but for me personally, I went on way too long when I should have retired.
"I needed someone to tell me you’re past your best, your body can’t handle it so walk away. I hope we see him in the 50m final, and he does really well, but I’ve just got a small incline that maybe Paris should have been the time for Adam Ramsay-Peaty to walk away in my opinion.
"The problem is that when you’re in a sport which is so measurable, the stopwatch doesn’t lie.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2026/07/25/image-682f3f93-c71f-403a-8b0d-daf99048adac-85-2560-1440.jpeg)
Ramsay-Peaty admits ‘there’s something going wrong’ after 100m breaststroke bronze
Video credit: TNT Sports
"There has to come a time when you look at the stopwatch, and it doesn’t how much you believe in yourself, that stopwatch is showing you it’s not what it once showed.
"The hardest thing you’ll ever do is walk away, especially when you’re not walking away at the top. For an athlete to be able to walk away at the top of their career, that’s very brave.
"I think Adam Ramsay-Peaty will look back one day and realize, I achieved so much. But there’s more to him than just the water."
Boxer Delicious Orie understands more than most the difficulty of walking away from the sport after he announced his shock retirement following one professional fight.
Ori told the TNT Sports studio: "It’s an identity thing. You spend so much time showing people, look at me. I’m this person, I’m Delicious Orie the boxer, and then you step out of yourself and think I’m not going to be identified as this person anymore.
"You almost feel a little bit lost and it’s a different journey and it’s a little bit scary."
Ramsay-Peaty will need to clock a better time to take home the gold medal in the 50m breaststroke after he recorded the fifth-fastest time in the heats.
South African Michael Houlie clocked the fastest time of the morning session at 26.53 while 100m breaststroke champion Williamson was the second fastest.
Add TNT Sports as a preferred source here to enjoy more content like this.
The Commonwealth Games is entering a new era with TNT Sports and HBO Max set to deliver a never-before-seen viewing experience, with every event from Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games exclusively live across all HBO Max plans in the UK and Ireland.
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement