Britain's Adam Peaty entered the record books on Monday by defending his 100-meter breaststroke title, and securing Team GB’s first gold medal of the Tokyo Games.
It was nothing less than an emphatic victory by the world record holder, who finished in a rapid 57.37 seconds, over half a second ahead of silver medalist Arno Kamminga of the Netherlands (58.00) and Italian Nicolo Matinenghi (58.33) at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
Peaty, 26, led from the start. By the time he turned at the halfway point, he was already 0.31 seconds in front of Kamminga. When he touched the wall at the finish, he recorded the fifth-fastest time in history and became the first British swimmer to retain an Olympic gold medal in the pool.
As the first man to break both 58 and 57 seconds in breaststroke, Peaty was the favourite. However, that took nothing away from a win that clearly meant a lot to the Olympic champion from the midlands, as he climbed on the lane ropes to celebrate and shout. “Probably swearing,” he said, during a colourful post-race interview with the BBC.
“You’ve got to prove yourself in 57 seconds,” he said. “I’ve shown time and time again, I perform when it matters.”
Undefeated in 100m breaststroke for seven years now, Peaty’s indomitable form is an inspiration to his rivals.
“He’s been pushing the breaststroke for years now. He really set a new standard,” Kamminga said of Peaty. “If you really watch his stroke, he’s so perfect in the small details. That’s really pushing me in practice, as well as competition.”
In an interview with Sky News, John Plant, Peaty’s former coach at Dove Valley Swimming Club, said that it was his love of competition that really set him apart from the field when he was a youngster.
I’ve shown time and time again, I perform when it matters
Adam Peaty
“When he started with us, he was fairly average,” remembers Plant, “What he had from day one was a love of competition. And that grew and grew. Whether it was club, county, or regional championships, Adam was always fighting for it, and that was his love.”
Five years ago in Rio, Peaty beat his own world record in the heats and again in the final, winning Britain’s first gold medal of those Games, and has since continued to collect world titles in his specialty in 2017 and 2019.
However, the coronavirus pandemic hampered Peaty’s momentum, the effects of which have clearly taken a toll. This gold medal brought with it a sense of relief for the 26-year-old, who admitted that Monday’s win had come at the end of a difficult period.
“The world has been through a tough time. But in the UK, it has been a very difficult journey, no training camps, no racing abroad,” he said, “I’m glad it’s all paid off. There has been a lot of investment into this swim.”
Patey revealed that his toughest struggles have been away from the pool.
“A lot has changed this last year, more than the last five. "Becoming a father, buying my first house and some days when I woke up and was like ‘this is hard, this is really hard’.
During a press conference, he was asked about the difficulties of balancing his family responsibilities with maintaining his performances in the pool.
“Fatherhood gives a different perspective to sport. Before, sport was absolutely everything, 100 per cent. But now, it’s not. If I have a bad training session, I go home, and he knows no different. He can still smile at me, or he can scream his head off, it makes no difference.”
As Peaty’s name continues to be written in headlines across the world, his dominance is likely to continue. On Monday, he showed no signs of slowing down, unleashing all of his intensity in the pool, not wanting to waste the moment he’d worked so hard for.
“You can do what you want in your own arena, in your own backyard, it doesn’t mean anything,” Peaty said. “It means everything here. I kept believing and that’s what matters.”
It marked a memorable day for Team GB in Tokyo. Divers Tom Daley and Matty Lee clinched victory in the 10m synchronised platform event before Tom Pidcock dominated the men's mountain bike race.
Daley won bronze medals at the London and Rio Games. And now at the age of 27, he finally won gold.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium, Malayisa
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia on October 10
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.5-litre, turbocharged 5-cylinder
Transmission: seven-speed auto
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Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
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- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
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- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
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- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
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