The Golden Faith of Adam Peaty
The award-winning swimmer is trusting in God after a turbulent few years
Interviews with athletes immediately after they’ve competed are rarely interesting. The usual questions are asked, and the same soundbites emerge. But when Adam Peaty was interviewed after winning silver in the men’s 100m breaststroke final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he offered something a little different. ‘I’m a very religious man and I asked God to show my heart,’ he said. ‘And this is my heart, I couldn’t have done more.’
It’s worth taking a few steps back to highlight what an astonishing reaction this is. Adam Peaty is a triple gold-medal Olympic champion, Britain’s greatest swimmer. When he won gold in the 100m breaststroke at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he made history by becoming the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title. At the time, he said: ‘Some people may see second as a victory. People celebrate second. But for me that’s not good enough.’ But three years on, he beams with pride at finishing second – and he talks about God.
To find out how he got there requires taking a few steps further back. Between competing in Tokyo and Paris, Peaty separated from his long-term partner (the mother of his son) and he struggled with fitness and form. It led to a breakdown that involved depression, anxiety and heavy drinking, as well as an ADHD diagnosis, culminating in him withdrawing from racing in March 2023.
‘A good friend of mine said a gold medal is the coldest thing you will ever wear,’ Peaty said last year. ‘It’s the coldest thing because you think it will fix all of your problems. It will not.’ It’s quite the statement for someone who’s also won eight World Championship gold medals, 17 European Championship gold medals and four Commonwealth gold medals. But it explains his reaction after winning silver this summer. He has a contentment that lies outside of what he achieves in the pool.
Central to this is his newfound Christian faith. He began attending church in February 2023 with Ashley Null, an Olympics chaplain. ‘I’d gone in there pretty much with my hood up,’ he explains in an interview with The Times. ‘I felt a huge sense of peace, calmness, grounding and perspective, belonging even. It felt like I was home, in a place where people understand there’s a higher level to this very superficial world.’
The spiritual awakening helped Peaty to pull through his difficult season and return to the pool, and it continues to sustain and enlighten him amidst the demands of elite swimming. He prays daily and regularly attends church. ‘For me, the only fulfilment and the only peace is every Sunday at church,’ he told the BBC.
Even as he swims, Peaty’s faith is quick to spot. Tattooed across his abdomen is a cross above the words ‘Into the Light’. The pool is Peaty’s stage and front of centre, before millions, is his faith. It’s testament to the deep and enduring impact Jesus has had upon his life, one no longer defined by medals.
The tattoo was prominently showing in an Instagram post Peaty shared after winning silver in Paris. ‘I’ve continued to fight and find new ways to enjoy something that has broken me to the core and to end up with an Olympic silver through all of that is an absolute blessing,’ he wrote. ‘I’m more proud of the man and athlete I am from last night than I have been across my entire career.’ He closed with ‘My heart is full’ and the words of Proverbs 3:5-6: ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.’
In another interview with The Times, days after competing in Paris, Peaty shared: ‘I’d rather have my faith and my relationship with Jesus and come second than have gold,’ before talking about how he wants his legacy to be his support of athletes who grow up without the resources to pursue their dreams. It’s a goal that again speaks of ‘the different person’ Peaty now claims and shows to be.
