TritonWear February Swimmer of the Month: Adam Peaty

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Each month, Swimming World will partner with TritonWear to bring you our Swimmer of the Month. This month, we feature Adam Peaty.

Who is Adam Peaty?

Adam Peaty is a competitive swimmer from England. He currently holds the world record in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, and was named European Swimmer of the Year for 5 consecutive years (2014 – 2018).

Adam’s Claim to Fame

Adam has been making waves in the international stage since 2012, when he competed at the 2012 European Junior Championships. In 2014, he set his first 50m breaststroke world record at the European Championships. A year later, he broke the 100m breaststroke world record at the 2015 British Nationals. He has since beaten these records multiple times.

His international wins also include:

2018 European Championships – 4 golds (50 and 100 breast, 400 medley and mixed medley relay)
2018 Commonwealth Games – 1 gold (100 breast), 2 silvers (50 breast and 400 medley relay)
2017 World Championships – 2 golds (50 and 100 breast), 1 silver (400 medley relay)
2016 European Championships – 4 golds (50 and 100 breast, 400 medley and mixed medley relay)
2016 Olympic Games – 1 gold (100 breast), 1 silver (400 medley relay)
2015 World Championships – 3 golds (50 and 100 breast, 400 mixed medley relay)
2014 Short Course World Championships – 3 silvers (50 and 100 breast, 200 mixed medley relay)
2014 European Championships – 4 golds (50 and 100 breast, 400 medley and mixed medley relay)
2014 Commonwealth Games – 2 golds (100 breast and 400 medley relay), 1 silver (50 breast)

Adam’s Metrics

We analyzed Adam’s 100m breaststroke metrics from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and 2017 Arena Pro Swim Series to learn how his metrics compared to his competitors, how they changed over time and how these changes impacted his performance.

Stroking Metrics

Speed

Peaty_100m Breaststroke (Speed)

Adam generated the fastest speed in his heat at the 2016 Olympics and 2017 Arena Pro Series. He started both races fast, gaining the lead early on in the races. He not only held onto the lead, but widened the gap through the entire distance..

Stroke rate and DPS

Peaty_100m Breaststroke (Stroke Rate and DPS)

Adam had the lowest DPS, and the fastest stroke rate at the 2016 Olympics. In 2017, he stroked at a slower rate and a higher DPS than in 2016, but he still had one of the shortest DPS and one of the fastest stroke rate in the heat.

In both years, he maintained a consistently fast stroke rate, with only a slight drop in DPS, from lap to lap.

Stroke Index

Peaty_100m Breaststroke (Stroke Index)

Adam had one of the lowest stroke index in both competitions, and overall, his breaststroke efficiency fell below average. He registered nearly the same stroke index between 2016 and 2017.

Transition Metrics

Turn Time and Time Underwater

Peaty_100m Breaststroke (Turn Time and Time Underwater)

In 2016, Adam had one of the fastest turn times. But in 2017, he took around 0.3 seconds longer on the wall, and had one of the slowest turn times in the heat. He also spent less time underwater than his competitors, on average.

Takeaways

Eliminating the glide between strokes can generate great speed.

In both competitions, Adam barely paused between strokes. He pulled his next strokes as soon as his arms recovered, stroking at an incredibly fast rate and swimming faster than anyone in his heat.

Efficiency is important, but it is only one of the many components to a fast swim.

Adam did not have the most efficient breaststroke in either competition, but he was able to use his fast stroke rate to win gold both times, even breaking the world record at the 2016 Olympics.

To read more about Adam and his stroke index, check out TritonWear’s Swimmer of the Month page. Check it out to learn more of Adam’s metrics here.

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