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• Adam Peaty says winning gold medals will not fix all his problems

  Adam Peaty insisted adding more gold medals to his already bulging collection would not be the cure-all to his struggles.

  The three-time Olympic gold medallist withdrew from the British Swimming Championships last month after citing mental health issues and later admitted he had been on a “self-destructive spiral”.

  Peaty has spoken previously about periods of depression and problems with alcohol, which he admits worsened last year as he struggled with injury, motivation and the breakdown of his relationship with the mother of his young son.

  He remains hopeful of heading to the Paris Olympics next year as he looks for a third straight title in the men’s 100 metres breaststroke but was adamant that doing so would not be a silver bullet for him.

  “A good friend of mine said a gold medal is the coldest thing you will ever wear,” Peaty told BBC Breakfast.

  “It’s the coldest thing because you think it will fix all of your problems. It will not.

  “I took a break because I was on this endless search of a gold medal or a world record and I looked into the future and I said ‘OK, if I do get that is my life fixed or any better?’ No.

  “So take the time now to really think about who you are, what you want out of life and then get the gold medal.

  “Hopefully when I get to the Olympics I will be in a very good mindset, very grateful and most importantly happy.”

• Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago secure round four wins in CWI Women’s T20 Blaze; Barbados, Guyana level on points heading into final round

  An unbeaten half-century from captain Shemaine Campbelle lifted Guyana to a crucial eight-wicket win over defending champions Jamaica in their Cricket West Indies (CWI) Women’s T20 Blaze match on Thursday.

  The stylish right-hander made 50* from 49 balls including five fours and shared an unbroken third wicket stand of exactly 100 with allrounder Shakibi Gajnabi, as the Guyanese successfully chased 110 in the opening match of the triple-header at Warner Park, St Kitts.

  Gajnabi supported well with 37 not out from 46 balls and the result was achieved with 12 balls remaining, giving Guyana their third win of the tournament.

  Earlier in the day, fast bowler Celina Whyte took 2-11 from her allotted four overs – removing Sheneta Grimmond for six and fellow opener Katana Mentore for two but Campbelle and Gajnabi combined to dominate.

  When Jamaica batted captain Stafanie Taylor led the way again with 48 off 49 balls with five fours and one six, as the Jamaicans reached 109-6 from their 20 overs after they won the toss and chose to bat.

  Taylor added 55 for the second wicket with Keneshia Ferron (20) and put on 32 for the third wicket with Natasha McLean (27), but their effort was never going to be enough to seriously challenge Guyana. Seam bowler Cherry-Ann Fraser was the pick of the bowlers with 3-18 from three overs.

  In the day’s second encounter, Trinidad & Tobago secured a six-wicket win over the Leeward Islands.

  Divya Saxena (37) and Jahzara Claxton (36) led the way for the Leewards as they made 120-5 off their 20 overs batting first.

  Off-spinner Anisa Mohammed took a pair of wickets in her four overs while conceding only 21 runs while Kirbyina Alexander took 2-15 from three.

  Trinidad & Tobago then reached 121-4 with 14 balls to spare thanks to a solid all-round batting effort including contributions from Shunelle Sawh (26), Britney Cooper (21*), Shalini Samaroo (20) and Anisa Mohammed (19*).

  The day’s third game saw Super 50 champions Barbados score a dramatic four-wicket win over the Windward Islands off the last ball of the match.

  Qiana Joseph led the way with a run-a-ball 50 while Malika Edward contributed 20 as the Windwards posted 128-8 off their 20 overs.

  Pacers Shamilia Connell and Allison Gordon led the way with the ball for Barbados with 3-16 and 2-20 from their respective four over spells.

  The successful Barbados chase was then led by the Knight sisters with Kycia getting 49 at the top of the innings and Kyshona getting 19* including the winning runs. Naijanni Cumberbatch also contributed a crucial 22 as Barbados ended up 121-6 off their 20 overs.

  Zaida James took 2-27 from her four overs for the Windwards.

  With one round of matches left, Guyana and Barbados are currently level on 12 points with Barbados at the top via head-to-head record. They are followed by the Windwards (8), Trinidad & Tobago (8), Jamaica (8) and the Leewards (0).

  On Saturday, Jamaica will take on the Windward Islands, Barbados will face the Leewards and Guyana will face Trinidad & Tobago.

   

   

   

• Artistic Swim VP lauds young team on 25-medal haul, optimistic about sport's continued growth locally

  Robyn Chin Sang, the Aquatic Sports Association of Jamaica (ASAJ) vice-president with responsibility for artistic swimming, believes the performance of the country's young stars at the recently-concluded Worldwide Invitational Meet augurs well for the continued growth and development of the sport locally.

  Chin Sang's pride was very evident, as she reflected on the manner in which a 18-member team from the Island Aquatics Synchro club, displayed their prowess among more illustrious competitors from various countries, in Coral Springs, Florida.

  The athletes accompanied by two coaches and one official, secured 25 medals ---15 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze ---bettering the 10 won by an eight-member team last year.

  "The competition was much harder this year, as we had more competitors from different clubs and countries and more advance swimmers. So, it wasn't easy, but our girls did very well in putting the winnings in the bag and embodied the through Jamaican spirit of little but tallawah," Chin Sang said.

  She pointed out that attending events like these are vital to the sport's continued development as they introduce younger athletes, in particular, to different levels of competition. However, the fact that the team had to conduct fundraisers to pay their way didn't escape her and she is now optimistic that their performances will assist in getting corporate Jamaica on board with the sport.

  Artistic swimming, previously known as synchronised swimming, requires athletes to perform coordinated or identical movements in time to music, with performances lasting several minutes.

  "These competitions give the girls the experience and drive to continue in the sport and encourage them to keep working hard to get to the new level that they witnessed on international stage like these. 

  "So, we are very proud of the way they held their own and ensured the country's flag kept flying high. All 18 athletes returned with at least one medal, all our girls placed in their routines and eight of them placed in figures. In addition to that, they had four awards for placing in top 12 in figures, as well as three best figures titles in three different age categories," Chin Sang shared.

  "The success of the team will have a greater impact not only on the athletes but also on the wider Jamaican community. We will have more swimmers being interested in the sport and hopefully more sponsorship will come on board from the corporate companies to help the growth of the sport and its athletes," she added.

  On that note, Chin Sang lauded the unwavering efforts of Coach Olga Novokshchenova and her Island Aquatics family for their dedication to assisting the athletes by providing the training and opening up the possibility to take part in global artistic swimming competitions.

  "We will continue to train for our next local competition, to take place on a date to be confirmed and then we will go from there. But the aim is always to give off our best for the athletes," she ended.