50 m breaststroke, men

What to remember

Adam Peaty, born in Uttoxeter, made sprint breaststroke his own. On July 25, 2017, at the World Championships in Budapest, the British swimmer covered the 50 m breaststroke in 25.95 s, in a long course pool.

Between 2014 and 2020 he dominated the 100 m breaststroke at major long course championships and nearly matched that over 50 m, where only South Africa's Cameron van der Burgh broke the run, winning the Commonwealth Games titles of 2014 and 2018. His record includes eight world titles, sixteen European titles and four Commonwealth titles.

The 100 m breaststroke built his Olympic reputation. In Rio in 2016 he won it while breaking his own world record in the final, the first gold for a British male swimmer in 24 years. In Tokyo he retained the title, the first British swimmer ever to keep an Olympic title. The 50 m breaststroke has been raced at the long course World Championships since 2001.