Britain's Richards confident teammate Peaty will be fine for relays

PARIS : Britain's Matt Richards was confident teammate Adam Peaty would be fully fit for the relays after the breaststroke swimmer was isolated with COVID at the Paris Olympics.

Peaty, who has three golds and three silvers from three Games, felt unwell before winning 100 metres silver on Sunday and tested positive for the virus on Monday.

"I’ll now be focusing on a fast, full recovery to give my best in the team relays later in the week," 29-year-old Peaty posted on Instagram.

The men's 4x100 medley relay heats are scheduled for Saturday, with the final on Sunday. The mixed 4x100 medley relay heats are on Friday and the final on Saturday.

Peaty won gold in the 4x100 mixed medley in Tokyo in 2021 and silvers in the 4x100 medley in Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo.

"Adam's OK, he's not dying. He's alright, just a bit of a cold. It's not fun but he'll get through it," Richards, the 2023 200 freestyle world champion told reporters after his 100 freestyle heat on Tuesday.

"We'll avoid it as best we can."

Richards said the team had taken the news in their stride and he had no doubt Peaty could be 100 per cent for the races.

"I've got no doubt on that. We've seen what he's done over the years ... if it's possible to be at full strength he will be. That's all there is to it."