Ali-inspired Peaty ends dry spell for British swimming

Rio de Janeiro : With the words of Muhammad Ali ringing in his ears, Adam Peaty obliterated his own world record to win the 100m breaststroke at the Rio Olympics on Sunday and provide Britain with its first male swimming gold medallist in 28 years.

The 21-year-old Englishman, showing no signs of nerves in his first Olympic final, blew away his opponents to win easily in a time of 57.13 seconds, slashing 0.42 off the previous world record he set in Saturday's heats.

South Africa's Cameron van der Burgh, the champion four years ago in London, took the silver while American Cody Miller grabbed the bronze, but none of the finalists could keep up with Peaty after he made a flying start off the blocks.

The race was already as good as over when he turned for home with a comfortable lead but he stretched out over the last lap to break his record and become the first British man to win an Olympic gold medal in swimming since Adrian Moorhouse won the same event at Seoul in 1988, more than six years before Peaty was born.

"We've just shown that even though we're a small country and we may not have the best facilities or whatever from a young age we can still pack a punch," Peaty said.

An unlikely swimming champion, Peaty was afraid of water when he was child and showed no hint of what was to come until well into his teenage years, finding his inspiration from a book he read on the late heavyweight champion of the world.

Peaty went to Rio as the overwhelming favourite for gold after already winning the world, European and Commonwealth titles in recent years, and he shrugged off the weight of expectation by breaking his world record in the heats then again in the final, celebrating his win by straddling the lane ropes and thrusting his arms in the air in triumph.

"I read a 500-page book on Muhammad Ali and his first Olympic Games and his life. I read that about two years ago now and it just put things into perspective," Peaty said.

"Each day, day-in day-out, I just gave it absolutely everything. It's not just in the pool that I've given 110 percent, it's out of the pool as well and I can finally enjoy this bit now."