Adam Peaty revealed he has gone through "breakdowns" and has had to hide emotions from his family after becoming a double Olympic champion.
It was another dominant performance from world-record holder Peaty in the 100 metres breaststroke at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, with a time of 57.37 – the fifth fastest in history – enough for him to make history as the first British swimmer to defend an Olympics title.
Peaty is unbeaten in the event in seven years and only one other swimmer has ever breached the 58-second mark – that being silver medallist Arno Kamminga.
Despite his dominance, Peaty spoke about the challenges he has faced, with the 26-year-old having become a father to his son George within the past year.
He said: "It's been a heavy investment. A lot has changed this last year, more than the last five. Becoming a father, buying my first house and some days when I woke up and was like 'this is hard, this is really hard'.
"There's been so many challenges, so many challenges and f*****g some breakdowns as well.
"It's like 'what am I doing every single day? Why am I training three times a day, giving it everything for this swim?'.
"I've hidden a lot of emotion from my own family, I've hidden a lot of stress and a lot of those moments where I was like 'this is very, very hard'.
"The 99.9 per cent of time that we spend in the dark is for the 0.01 per cent we spend in light."
Having made history, Peaty was asked how much longer he foresees himself staying in the pool, with the Paris Games three years away.
"I think of sport very simply, as soon as I stop having fun I'll stop, I'm still having fun, I have a lot of fun with my boy, I have a lot of fun at home and having a normal life too," he added.
"It's such a big decision, it's a family decision now, not just me being a selfish athlete because we have to be selfish but we'll have that conversation when we're home.
"Obviously, we're targeting Paris anyway, anything after that is a bonus really. It's about how young you keep your mind, sport is getting faster, the world is getting faster, you have to take that in to consideration too.
"It depends what else is out there, if I can inspire people in other ways I'll probably do that. But I live in the present."
Newly elected ASAJ president Rochester ready to hit the ground running
Newly elected Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) president Lance Rochester says his administration intends to hit the ground running to execute on their vision to achieve growth, and, by extension, move aquatic sports forward.
Rochester, who is the former vice-president in charge of water polo, takes the reins from Martin Lyn, as he found overwhelming favour with delegates, during the ASAJ’s Annual General Meeting at the National Aquatic Centre on Tuesday.
He tallied 46 votes to Georgia Sinclair’s seven in the election process, which was managed by Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) president Christopher Samuda.
Along with Sinclair, the former vice-president in charge of swimming, incumbent Shauna Jackson, was also ousted from the Secretary position by former Treasurer Florence Grizzle-Williams.
Grizzle-Williams earned 40 votes to Jackson’s 12, while Robyn-Ann Chin Sang was unopposed for her post of vice-president in charge of artistic swimming, and Marlon McIntyre has taken over as vice-president in charge of water polo. Richard Hopkins and Michelle Parker, who will serve as treasurer and assistant treasurer respectively, complete the administration.
Rochester pointed out that his first order of business for his administration is to restore accountability and integrity to the association by demonstrating good governance skills.
“It is a very humbling experience to have received the support of a majority of delegates, it is clear that the vision which was outlined connected with members and I am very excited about the opportunities to come, and also to execute what has been outlined,” Rochester told SportsMax.TV.
“I must say I am grateful for the support which the outgoing members provided to this association over the past few years. Sports administration is very challenging and demanding, and so we have to be grateful to those who choose to serve, and of course if they are able to lend support in some other capacity going forward, I am keen to receive that support,” he added.
While admitting that he feels some pressure to deliver accordingly, Rochester explained that he is mentally and strategically prepared to ensure his administration’s two-year term will be a fruitful one.
“Of course, there is pressure to deliver because the vision that was outlined was a bold vision, but the good thing is that I am not alone in this because we have a very strong team that is keen on working to execute,” he declared.
“One of the central objectives is not only to develop an all-island and grassroots programme to ensure that we are identifying talent early, and developing that talent appropriately, but also to ensure that Jamaican boys and girls right across the country are learning how to swim because swimming is an essential life skill.
“We are also moving to develop a high-performance programme to ensure that we are providing the most value and support to our club and national level athletes,” Rochester shared.
Newly elected administration
President – Lance Rochester
1st Vice President – Dr Hilary Nixon in charge of Swimming
2nd Vice President – Robyn-Ann Chin Sang in charge of Artist Swimming
3rd Vice President – Marlon McIntyre in charge of Water Polo
General Secretary – Florence Grizzle-Williams
Treasurer – Richard Hopkins
Assistant Secretary/Treasurer – Michelle Parker
Arenas calls out NBA referees for being too 'emotional' after Paul ejection
NBA referees are too "emotional", according to former player Gilbert Arenas.
A controversial incident on Wednesday led to Golden State Warriors' Chris Paul being ejected from his team's game with the Phoenix Suns, thrown out by referee Scott Foster, with whom Paul has endured a long feud.
Paul and Foster have clashed numerous times over the years, and the latest disagreement saw the referee slap the 12-time NBA All-Star with two quick technical fouls, leading to the 38-year-old's seventh career ejection.
Arenas, who racked up 11,402 points in an NBA career spanning 11 years, believes referees must do more to control their own emotions amid the chaos.
"Someone should ask Adam Silver [NBA commissioner] this," Arenas said on his Gil's Arena podcast. "If I'm a player, I'm playing a game that's emotional, I'm acting in real time, real deep human emotions.
"And when I don't control my emotions, a ref can give me a technical, which means whatever I said to him, irritated him so bad that he didn't control his emotions and he gave me a tech. So, my emotions led to him being emotional, but he gets to give me a technical and that's fine.
"How? He's supposed to be the most cool and collected m*********** out there. There's no nothing for him. He doesn't leave it with a win or loss. Whatever he does, whatever he makes, he gets it no matter f****** what. What's a ref's record? zero and f****** zero his whole career. There's no win or loss, [yet] that's the most f****** emotional dude in the game."
VPs Sinclair, Rochester take aim at ASAJ leadership as Lyn opts out of re-election
After serving 14 years as President of the Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ), Martin Lyn has opted not to seek re-election, citing the need to refresh and reinvigorate the organisation with new leadership.
Lyn, whose time at the helm was spread across seven two-year terms, believes he has left the association in good standing with a solid platform on which the next president can build to drive the country’s aquatic sports product forward.
The new president will be selected at the ASAJ’s Annual General Meeting scheduled for December 5.
Georgia Sinclair and Lance Rochester, who served as vice presidents with responsibility for swimming and water polo respectively, under Lyn’s leadership, are said to be frontrunners in the race to take the reins.
“Sometimes you have to know when to step aside and let someone else take over. My accomplishments and achievements speak for themselves, and nobody can dispute the fact that I have done a significant amount of good during my time in charge. I also think it’s time for me to focus on other things as well and also allow the association to grow in a different direction,” Lyn told SportsMax.TV.
“For the first time in a while, there are people vying for the presidency and it is good that people’s ambitions towards leadership is stimulated. So, I am stepping down to allow the association to grow even bigger and better with fresh ideas because I have left a strong foundation on which the next president can build,” he added.
According to Lyn, his time at the helm boast outstanding contribution and great personal sacrifice, though his credibility, integrity and, by extension, leadership qualities, have been called into question on a number of occasions.
“The presidency is not an easy job in any federation. It wasn’t always easy to beg and beseech the minister (of sports) and Sports Development Foundation for funding or even to secure sponsorship, and of course, you and others don’t always see eye-to-eye for various reasons. But we have upgraded the system and most importantly we are in one of the best financial positions that we have been in, in years,” Lyn argued.
“The day-to-day running of the federation was up and down but the administration performed very well including the disciplinary committee. For the first time in a long time, we don’t have any disciplinary matters pending,” he noted.
Though celebrating some infrastructure development, as well as the recognition of five Jamaican officials on the World Aquatics list among his achievements, Lyn pointed out that he also had some regrets.
“Two regrets I have, and one is the fact that I have tried unsuccessfully to change the constitution of the ASAJ so that there are not so many gray areas because in the current constitution, there are a lot of loopholes. But the feedback was that we couldn’t just meet and discuss the constitution, so maybe I was a little premature in my approach, but it is something that I will encourage for the new administration to look at,” Lyn shared without going into details about his other regret, which had to do with how swim meets were conducted.
That said, Lyn left words of encouragement for the new administration which will boast familiar faces, as treasurer Florence Grizzle-Williams will battle incumbent Shauna Jackson for the post of Honorary Secretary.
Robyn-Ann Chin-Sang will be running unopposed for Vice-president in charge of artistic swimming, while Marlon McIntyre is the only candidate for the vice-president in charge of water polo.
Meanwhile, Hilary Brown-Nixon seems set to take the post of vice-president in charge of swimming.
“The first word of encouragement is to keep the train rolling, because we are on a very good path for success. I have dedicated a lot of time out of my life to do what I did, so which ever candidate takes over, they must be willing to invest the time and effort into moving the sport forward because it is to the benefits of the athletes and more so the country,” he ended.
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