British Olympic swimming champion Adam Peaty has managed to get back into the pool after having to do with daily runs and working out in his garage for more than a month. The 50m and 100m breastroke world record holder has managed to get a training pool installed in his back garden.
Peaty has been denied a pool to train in ever since his full-size training pool at the Loughborough University shut down. At 5.7m long and 2.8m long, the SwimFit “flume” tank that he trains in is about a tenth the size of the Olympic 50m pool. However, it generates a current against which Peaty swims, The Times reported.
“It makes a big difference to be in water,” Peaty told The Times. “I can practise my technique just as I can in a big pool and I work on buoyancy and getting high out of the water. It’s a great utility to be able to have use of in these strange times.
“I’m in there for an hour a day seven days a week until we can get back to our pool. I’m just feeling the water and building that base up. It’s a bit like back to square one.
“I’m a firm believer that if you’re going to build a skyscraper you’re going to have to try and reach for the sky. I’ll build something great by Tokyo next year and that starts with working on an amazing foundation of technique and fitness. This pool will allow us to get back to the big pool, come the hour, with a nice base to build from.”
The pool was loaned to him by Jacuzzi Spa and Bath. “The pool was an amazing thing for them to offer me; I put my hand up straight away and accepted it. I’m immensely grateful to them and to my sponsor Arena for this kind of support. It’s great to get back in the water, feel the jets rushing at me,” he said.