Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty is one of the celebrity contestants taking part in this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Born on 28 December, 1994, Fletcher was raised in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. He joined a swimming club in the town when he was nine years old, and was winning races and setting club records by the time he was 12.
He went on to specialise in the breast stroke, winning the gold medal in the 100 metre breaststroke at the 2016 Summer Olympics (the first gold medal won by a male British swimmer in 24 years). Peaty retained the title at the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021, the first British swimmer ever to retain an Olympic title.
The athlete is also an eight-time World Champion and the holder of the world record in 50 metre and 100 metre breaststroke events.
While Peaty was training at Loughborough University, he met girlfriend Eirianedd Munro. The couple have one son together.
Strictly is one of his first forays into entertainment, with the swimmer’s only previous experience of the format being his appearances on the comedy show A League of Their Own.
Tweeting about training for Strictly, he wrote: “Never enjoyed something so much in my life, so excited to get started! Such an incredible experience and if anyone knows me, I’m not too good on land Let’s get those hips moving.”
Peaty is competing against fellow Strictly contestants including comedian Robert Webb, children’s TV entertainer Rhys Stephenson, journalist Dan Walker, actor Greg Wise and EastEnders star Nina Wadia. Read the full line-up here.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday nights on BBC One.
