Team England swimmer Adam Peaty will be one of the star attractions when the Commonwealth Games arrive on the Gold Coast next month, with the 23-year-old having established himself as the best in the world at his discipline.
Peaty is already an Olympic champion, multiple world and European champion and later this year will be returning to the competition where it all took off for him on the international stage.
The 50m breaststroke and 100m breaststroke world-record holder will be the favourite to add to the two gold medals he won in Glasgow four years ago - his first major success in the senior ranks.
Having also won two more gold medals at the British Championships in Edinburgh earlier this year, Peaty will arrive in Australia in good form, and Sports Mole caught up with the swimming sensation to discuss the upcoming Games.
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Hi Adam, how are you feeling ahead of the upcoming Games?
"Yeah good, I'm confident, training is going well and I can't wait to get out there now and hopefully perform."
It was yet another incredible year for you last year - you must almost go into these events expecting to win now...
"I mean obviously you never really go in there expecting to win. You have that confidence of wanting to win but at the same time I have that respect for my rivals.
"Sport being sport, it's unpredictable and you never know what you're gonna get. The training's in place, the racing's in place, it's kind of making the most of each day of training."
What would you regard as a successful year for yourself in 2018?
"Defending my titles firstly. It's one of those years where you're not going to have a high of the World Championships or the Olympic Games but, just kind of coming off the back of both of those, it's getting out there, racing and performing.
"That's what I want to do and, there's no more to it really. There are no expectations on me, only the ones I put on myself, pressure doesn't really come into my world anyway."
You broke the 26-second barrier in the 50m breastroke last year. Are there any other time barriers you're targeting now?
"I think it's only right to say sub-57s (for the 100m breastroke) but whether that'll come this year or next year or the year after that, you just don't know.
"For me it's going to be getting out there, doing my best and getting used to travelling East, which is going to be very handy going into Tokyo."
Do you see this event as another stepping stone on the way to those Tokyo Olympics in 2020?
"Obviously the event itself is a good practice run. At the same time I'm going there to seriously compete and give it my best shot, but you've got to see it as a massive learning curve, even though I've done it for the last four years now. Each one I want to learn, learn about myself, learn about how I perform and keep improving."
Have you set yourself a medal target for the Commonwealths?
"I have, but I don't want to say. I keep it in my head. Me and (coach) Mel [Marshall] know what I want from the Games. We both know what we want from the Europeans as well, it's kind of one of those things where I want to keep it under the hood."
You mentioned you're the only one that puts pressure on yourself. Are you almost racing against yourself and your own previous times as much as the other swimmers now?
"Obviously when I go to a race, being world-record holder, everybody wants you. That helps me in training and pushes me in training, but when I go into a race I just want to do it for me and not think about the rest of the world. For me to perform, I've just got to 110% concentrate on what I've got to do and not get distracted by everyone else."
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Does your approach differ as a defending champion then, knowing you're there to be shot at?
"Going into the Commonwealth Games as the defending champion, it's almost like a mini Olympics. It's multisport, there are going to be thousands and thousands of people watching, it's going to be great to put those arena skills into use and see how I perform in an outdoor pool and how I perform after the jet-lag, the travelling... it's going to be good."
Your first major international breakthrough came in Glasgow four years ago - does that make the Commonwealths extra special for you?
"It all kicked off four years ago - that was the stepping stone I made from a junior into a senior swimmer and it will hold forever a place in my heart where that gave me the opportunity to race the best in the world.
"It's a good halfway point to see where I'm at between Olympics and Olympics. I'm just gonna be out there enjoying myself, really."
Do you feel any difference competing under the Team England banner rather than Team GB?
"There is a slight difference, a slight change in the team but England against Scotland, you always get that buzz going, all of them watching Braveheart, so it's good banter, but we always come back together for the Europeans and we're kind of one team anyway."
Who are you particularly looking forward to coming up against at the Games?
"In the relays, Australia are going to be a big hit so it will be great to see how we do against them in the relay. We've got a few juniors coming through now - other than that we're just going to take it as it comes and see what our opponents are saying."
Barney Corkhill
