Adam Peaty reveals in a modern book how he became a triple Olympic champion and what rules he followed

Ashley Davis07/03/2026

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The book by Adam Peaty (31 years old), triple Olympic champion in breaststroke, which is called “The Gladiator Mentality”, was translated in Romania by Pilot Books. The British swimmer has put on the pages a personal development guide, using performance sport as a case study. The eight-time world champion does not focus exclusively on his swimming performances, but analyzes the internal mechanisms that led to them.

Spectators and young Romanian swimmers had the opportunity to see Adam Peaty in the flesh at the “Sprint with the Stars” event in Otopeni, held in mid-January.

Now I can learn even more about the triple Olympic champion from the book “The Gladiator's Mentality”, translated in Romania by Pilot Books. This was published in 2021, but can be read anytime, because Adam Peaty focused on how he got to the extraordinary performances of his life.

Adam Peaty reveals in a modern book how he became a triple Olympic champion and what rules he followed

Adam Peaty at Sprint with the Stars from Otopeni PHOTO Cristi Preda

Why gladiator mentality? Because Adam loved the movie “Gladiator” starring Russell Crowe when he was young, and he found a similarity between gladiators and performance athletes, both having to enter large arenas prepared, focused and fearless.

Adam Peaty offers, in the 13 chapters of the book, tools to succeed in sports, but also in life.

Book cover

The swimmer, who still holds two individual world records and has achieved extraordinary times in the breaststroke, provides eloquent examples of how he has turned his mental disadvantages into advantages.

“I used my aggressive side in as positive a way as possible to get through the pain. The more the pain, the more it motivated me. It was like I was going all out to find the pain, because it was going to help me succeed,” he says.

Adam Peaty PHOTO Cristi Preda

“As a child and in my early youth I was terrified before a swimming competition. Now, through experience, I have developed what are called arena skills, the ability to adapt to the crowd and the pressure,” says Peaty. For this he worked with former special forces soldiers to succeed in developing these skills.

6 Olympic medalsconquered Adam Petay in his career, three being gold

The book touches on big themes that it develops in its 190 pages: discipline over motivation, responsibility and accountability, identity beyond achievement, and adversity as a growth factor.

“A life properly lived is not only full of ambition, but also laughter. Sometimes when I'm relaxing in a pub with a drink, someone will raise an eyebrow and make an accusing look: 'You're a sportsman, you can't drink', which gets on my nerves. I'm a human being like everyone else. I'm not public property and I'm no drunker than anyone else,” writes Peaty.

The special relationship with coach Mel Marshall

Adam Peaty also dedicates a part of the book to his coach, Melanie Marshall, the one with whom he worked from 2014 to 2024, the one who shaped him as a person and a swimmer.

Adam tells how, when he was just starting out, the coach would take them to a training camp every year to show them what other people's lives look like. One year they arrived in Zambia and had to train in green water that hadn't seen chlorine in a long time. “What sets Adam above other athletes is his work ethic. It is a combination of dedication to what he aims for and genuine talent that has made him an imposing champion”says Mel Marshall.

The athlete is formed little by little. Over time, as he builds his strengths, mindset and overcomes his weaknesses. Nothing happens overnight – Adam Peaty

To succeed in performance sports you need the right mentality, impeccable self-discipline, genetic advantages, the right mentor, access to the necessary equipment, parents who make sacrifices to support you and to be driven by the desire to succeed – Adam Peaty

Adam Peaty gives the practical examples

In addition to the psychological training and motivation part, Adam Peaty also reveals practical aspects of his career. The British swimmer gives the example of Michael Phelps, who consumed 12,000 calories a day, but points out that things have changed a lot. Now it is important how to fuel yourself so that you reach performance, not about how much to consume a certain number of calories.

11 world medalsconquered Adam Peaty's career in the 50m pool, eight of which were gold

He says he has a body that puts on muscle mass quickly and needs aerobic exercise to stay slim. In the book are examples of land exercises he does and what a day in his life looks like from a nutritional standpoint.

Adam Peaty and the Shortcomings of Childhood

Adam Peaty, who last year married Holly Ramsay, the daughter of the famous chef Gordon Ramsay, also talks about the sacrifices his family made for him to get into performance sports, but also how difficult it was in the early years.

“As a child I was very aware of the social class I was in and also that families within a class were not equal to each other. I wanted my mum to drive a nice car, for my parents to earn better, to know we were going somewhere exotic on summer holiday, not Wales (which I wouldn't give now).

I also wanted to grow up in a normal home where I didn't have to worry about money, wear my brothers clothes, or feel guilty when my mom had to fill up the car to take me to practice. My mother used to say we lived on the poverty line, but I never really knew what she meant by that. It wasn't until 2014, when I won medals at the Commonwealth Games and set my first world record, that I didn't have to worry about my next paycheck or my card being declined when I filled up my car, my own this time,” he says.

Adam Peaty

Adam Peaty. born in Uttoxeter, says the financial hardships he went through gave birth to an iron determination to succeed in life, which extended to his swimming.

The British swimmer says the final act to kill his fear of financial instability was to buy a luxury sports car which he paid £70,000 for when he started to earn more money.

“When you grow up in a poor family, where expenses are higher than income, being able to afford a brand new metallic gray Mercedes C-63 AMG with all the features possible is a moment you relish,” recounted Adam Peaty.

11 individual world recordsAdam Peaty collected in his career

He says that as he matured, he realized that buying new and shiny things brought him superficial and fleeting happiness, and now he is focusing on other aspects after going through difficult episodes from a psychological point of view.

Adam Peaty intends to participate in the fourth edition of the Olympic Games, in Los Angeles 2028, after being present at Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.