Olympics Rio 2016: Adam Peaty records two fastest 100m breaststroke times to storm into final

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 07/08/2016 at 08:01 GMT

Adam Peaty demolished his own world record in the heats of the Rio 2016 100 metres breaststroke, then recorded the second fastest time ever to reach the final.

The 21-year-old produced an incredible double to reach Sunday's showpiece and destroyed the field on both occasions as he launched a bid to become the first British man to win an Olympic swimming gold medal for 28 years.

First in the heats, Peaty set a new world record of 57.55 seconds - beating his previous mark set in London last year - and followed that with 57.62s in his semi-final.

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The world champion emphatically won both races as he recorded the two fastest times ever and is now a red-hot favourite to become the first British male swimmer to win Olympic gold since Adrian Moorhouse in the same event in 1988.

"It didn't really feel like an Olympic semi-final," said Peaty.

I feel like there's more in the tank but I want to save myself for that and hopefully cash out tomorrow.

"It is great. It is tough Ross Murdoch didn't make it through because it would have been great to have two GB boys through but I will do my best and show what I am all about.

"It is tough coming from the heats with a WR and replicating that tonight so I'll rest ahead of tomorrow."

Great Britain's Adam Peaty after winning his 100m breaststroke semi-final at Rio 2016

Image credit: Reuters

Defending Olympic champion Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa refused to accept that Sunday's final would simply be the Peaty show.

"For me there's no use expending any extra energy that I don't need to, so it's worked pretty well and that's my gameplan and I'll still be sticking to it," he told reporters.

"You know, we see guys smashing times in semi-finals and crumbling in finals... Obviously an Olympic final's a different animal, it's something really spectacular."

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