Peaty wins first short course title in Copenhagen

But even with Olympic gold and five world crowns to his name, a short course title still evaded the 22-year-old's grasp - until this week's European Championships, that is.

Having won 50m breaststroke bronze in a personal best time, Peaty backed up that effort with gold over 100m, setting a new European record in the process in Copenhagen.

Touching the wall in a time of 55.94 seconds, Peaty clinched the top step of the podium ahead of Italy's Fabio Scozzoli and Russia's Kirill Prigoda in second and third respectively, with British teammate Ross Murdoch placing eighth in a personal best and Scottish record time.

Ever the gentleman, Peaty handed his medal to a young fan in the crowd, and he insists his victory is an important stepping stone to getting even better in the water.

"That kind of a race was a tussle, I knew it was going to be a tussle in that last 25 but if anyone is next to me, I'm the man to get it done," he said.

"It's great to kind of carry that experience as an athlete as this is my third ever final in short course.

"Compared to long course where I've had hundreds, so this kind of experience to me is vital and is going to help me get even faster on the long course."

Peaty's medal wasn't Great Britain's only of the day, however, with Ben Proud also winning his second of the championships with bronze in the 50m butterfly.

Proud had already won 50m freestyle silver but added another podium finish to his collection with an impressive day in the pool, winning his semi-final after sailing through the heats.

In the final, he stopped the clock in a time of 22.44s, but insists the best is yet to come.

"It's exciting being in a race with a bunch of fast guys," said Proud. "I had a fast time in the semi-finals but I still thought I could move it on.

"Going into the finals my quads were feeling really heavy but at the same time everyone else in the final had also had to swim three times.

"Obviously it would have been nice to come away being European champion - I still think there's more there and I think I can go faster."

Elsewhere, double Olympic silver medallist Duncan Scott qualified for the final of the 100m freestyle with victory in his semi-final, while Kathryn Greenslade and Charlotte Atkinson finished fifth in the finals of the 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly, respectively.