By Paul Eddison in Paris

Adam Peaty should take huge pride in the way he has fought back to make it to Paris this summer according to trailblazer Alice Dearing.

Three years ago, Peaty and Dearing were part of the same British team in Tokyo, where she became the first black female swimmer to represent Team GB at the Olympics.

At those Games, Peaty retained his 100m breaststroke crown before taking his tally of Olympic gold medals to three in the mixed medley relay.

Following well-documented struggles with depression and alcohol issues, Peaty returned to the pool just over a year ago, and was in Paris looking for an historic third straight title in his favourite event.

He had to settle for silver in the end, before being diagnosed with Covid, but Dearing believes that simply getting back onto this stage says a lot about Peaty.

She said: “For Adam, coming into this, the way he has come back from what he has come back from is so powerful. Regardless of winning a medal, the fact he is back on the Olympic team, back swimming, not at his best but still at the point where he can be PB plus two and still winning an Olympic silver medal.

“It shows his strength and prowess as an athlete and regardless of what colour the medal is, I think he’s such an inspiration for us to look up to. Britain should take pride that we have been able to nurture his talent and boast it as our own."

Great Britain have performed well in the pool, even if they have not hit the heights of Tokyo three years ago.

In all, they have won five medals, including retaining their men’s 4x200m freestyle crown.

And while that is not as many as the eight won in Tokyo, of which three were gold, Dearing believes it is still a good return for a swimming team who won just two medals back at London 2012.

She added: “I think it’s been an interesting meet. Some great medals and some great swims. Not as many as Tokyo but the standards we set for ourselves in Tokyo were very high. We are still a very competitive swimming nation and looking back on where we have come from in the last 20 years, the amount of medals we are winning in every competition is something we should be really proud of.

“There have been a lot of great swims, the men’s 4x2, Matt Richards in the men’s 200 free was exceptional as well. I know he wanted that gold but I feel like everyone has gone in and given it their best shot, which I think is all you can ask for. We’re competing against the best in the world, it’s so competitive and everyone has that fighting spirit.”

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