Coronavirus: Adam Peaty's new home pool helping him build advantage, says Duncan Goodhew
Goodhew is president of the Swimathon Foundation and they have launched a fund to help deal with the impact of coronavirus pandemic.
Last Updated: 04/05/20 12:47pm
Duncan Goodhew hopes Adam Peaty's ingenuity will give him a further head-start on his Olympic Games rivals as he continues his own fight to help the swimming community.
The Swimathon Foundation is providing grants to small swimming and aquatic sports organisations which are suffering short-term financial hardship, although this year's feature Swimathon event - which has raised more than £50m for charity since its inception - has had to be postponed until October 16-18.
An opening £30,000 has already been earmarked to help such organisations although there is the scope to increase that should there be excess demand.
Goodhew, who is the foundation's president, said: "Almost all swimming clubs are run by a few individuals who put in an immense amount of voluntary time to keep clubs afloat.
"Now that hard times have hit, they may be really struggling with all of the costs associated. These are the unsung heroes of the sport and it's so important that we do all we can to help them get through this tough time."
At the other end of the spectrum, Peaty has emerged as Britain's best swimmer and, health permitting, will be defending his 100m breaststroke title when the Olympics are finally held in Tokyo in the summer of 2021 - the same event Goodhew won in Moscow nearly 40 years ago.
Peaty recently posted pictures of a new pool which he had craned into his back garden and Goodhew feels that will give him a leg-up on competitors who are not able to access pools while they remain out of access.
He added: "Pool time is it. You have to have the feel of the water, it's got to be there, and that's what makes the difference.
"If I was Adam Peaty I'd be shipping in a swimming pool because I'd know that a lot of my competitors wouldn't be able to do that or couldn't do it. For him it will be about 'how do I get the edge, how do I improve my mental resilience..' Because what's really happened on top of all this it's one more year.
"At the moment he's got this massive, massive gap between him and the rest of the world. Now they can't chisel that away at the moment can they?
"He can just build on that, their doubts just fall away if they believe he's doing more and working harder than they are. So, the key bit for him is when he comes back is to make sure he comes back really quickly, and they don't see that the gap has shrunk, that he's mortal and can be beatable."
