WORDS: ADAM DUXBURY // PHOTOGRAPHY: DANIEL JAEMS // FASHION: JOSEPH KOCHARIAN LOCATION: WITH KIND PERMISSION, AT THE SPA AT THE MANDARIN ORIENTAL HYDE PARK HOTEL. MANDARINORIENTAL.COM/LONDON
On a recent trip to Indianapolis, Olympic gold-medal-winner Adam Peaty noticed that his fellow competitors were filming his underwater performance. He shrugged and took the sneaky tactics in his stride. At 6ft 3in, weighing 89kgs during race days, and with a tiny waist, epically broad shoulders, huge hands and flexible knees, he’s a natural-born swimmer. And last year he smashed world records at the Rio games.
It’s hardly any wonder that his rivals want to copy his unique style after he became the first man to dip under 58 seconds in the 100m breaststroke in 2015 — a record that was only broken when Adam himself cut the time to 57.13secs in Rio, securing team GB their first gold in the process. And with all the talk in swimming now on Peaty’s “Project 56,” he’s too far ahead of the pack to worry about anyone copying him.