Adam Peaty heartbroken after shock defeat in 100m breaststroke final

Adam Peaty admitted his shock defeat in the men’s 100 metres breaststroke final was “heartbreaking” after he finished outside the medal positions as James Wilby claimed Commonwealth Games gold.

Peaty is the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder in his favoured event, where he had not lost in eight years and never before in a major final in a career of unprecedented dominance.

There were minor concerns of rustiness after two months on the sidelines following a broken foot, which ruled him out of the World Championships, but he unsurprisingly held the halfway lead in Birmingham.

But he struggled for momentum and was reeled in by English compatriot Wilby, who was first to touch the wall in 59.25 seconds at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, just over an hour’s drive from where Peaty grew up in Uttoxeter.

Zac Stubblety-Cook was second in 59.52secs and fellow Australian Sam Williamson third in 59.82s, 0.04 ahead of fourth-placed Peaty, the champion at Glasgow 2014 and on the Gold Coast in 2018 who was unable to put his finger on a time that was just under three seconds below his personal best of 56.88s.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Peaty, who hinted he will not be at next month’s European Championships.

“I don’t see the point in doing something I wouldn’t do that well at, at the moment. We’ll see.

“I don’t know what went wrong. With 25m to go I had nothing in the tank. Maybe that’s overexposure on the foot. Sometimes you just have a bad race, I can’t pinpoint where I went wrong. There’s a lot of debriefing to do. I need a full reset now.

“It was a slow final, I can’t remember the last time I went that slow. It just didn’t go right. Of course I’m disappointed, but that’s what makes you go faster next time.

“I’ve kind of