Adam Peaty Eliminated From Strictly Come Dancing; Olympic Star Flourished in New Domain
After two months of testing himself in an unknown environment, Olympic breaststroke champion Adam Peaty and his professional partner, Katya Jones, were eliminated from the popular BBC reality show, Strictly Come Dancing, on Sunday night. Peaty was the sixth contestant eliminated, but not before the swim star demonstrated he has some skills on the dance floor, too.
After repeating as Olympic titlist in the 100-meter breaststroke at last summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Peaty announced he had accepted an invitation to participate in Strictly Come Dancing. Peaty noted it was an opportunity to test himself in a different realm, and for several weeks, the British athlete acquitted himself superbly while following Jones’ lead during intense practice sessions.
During multiple Saturday night appearances, Peaty put forth performances of the Viennese waltz and tango, among other dances, and earned respect from the judges for his skill set and improvement. In his final dance, Peaty recorded a score of 27 with Jones for the jive, but the duo was placed into a dance-off and ultimately voted off the show.
“As an Olympian, I have pushed my body to places that I never thought it could be pushed,” Peaty said. “This is just a whole new ballgame and I’ve got so much respect for everyone that dances across the world. To all of these contestants and pros that put themselves on the line every single week, it’s just been a great experience.”
Peaty thanked Jones, the judges, makeup artists and wardrobe personnel in his farewell speech, while Jones praised Peaty for his dedication.
With his participation on the reality show over, Peaty will next make a decision concerning his swim plans. For the past two months, he has dedicated countless hours to his role on Strictly Come Dancing, so it figures it will take time for the Olympic champion to regain his form in the pool.