Adam Peaty has confirmed his intention to bid for a fourth Olympics at Los Angeles 2028 after the 50m breaststroke was added to the programme.
Peaty had left the door open to competing again after coming away with a silver medal from Paris 2024, though insisted that he needed time away from the pool to consider his options.
The 30-year-old has now seemingly announced that he will be in California in three years’ time after Olympic organisers confirmed the addition of sprint events in three strokes.
While the 50m freestyle has been part of the programme since 1988, the butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke swimmers have been denied the chance to compete over a single length.
However, that will change for the Olympics in Los Angeles with 50m medals up for grabs - which could be good news for Peaty.
The British breaststroker has been dominant over the distance in his career, winning three world titles as part of his collection of eight golds overall and breaking the world record, which he still holds, on four occasions
“50m Sprint Events have just been added to [the Los Angeles Olympics] which confirms my attempt to be at my fourth Olympic Games,” Peaty posted on social media, reacting to the news. “This is the best result for our incredible sport and will allow more people to be part of it and stay in it much longer.
“Thank you World Aquatics for this amazing decision.I’ve got a good feeling about these next three years.”
Peaty could yet chase four gold medals in Los Angeles in the 50m and 100m breaststroke and two medley relay events.
The International Olympic Committee approved the competition program for the LA Games on Thursday with a record 351 medal events, 22 more than took place in Paris.
Female athletes are also set to be in the majority for the first time, with the core quota of athletes for LA 50.7% women, according to the IOC. This comes in part due to changes to the football tournaments, with the gender imbalance flipped: 16 women’s teams will now compete compared to 12 men’s sides.
