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Adam Peaty has won three Olympic gold medals.
Three-time Olympic champion Adam Peaty made his return to the world championships by qualifying fastest in the men’s 100m breaststroke final in Doha.
Peaty, 29, is on track to win eight world gold medals.
Meanwhile, GB’s men’s team missed out on a medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
They finished in fourth place behind champion China, silver medalist Italy, and bronze medalist USA.
China’s victory also included a new world record in the 100m freestyle, set by 19-year-old Pan Zhanle in the first leg of the relay, clocking 46.80 seconds.
The British relay team of Jacob Whittle, Tom Dean, Duncan Scott and Matt Richards secured an Olympic spot with a competitive performance. The team was disqualified from the 2023 World Championships for taking off early.
Great Britain also qualified for the final, with Abbie Wood becoming the seventh fastest semi-finalist in the women’s 200m medley with a time of 2:11.35. Defending American champion Kate Douglas set the fastest qualifying time with a time of 2:08:41.
Petey improved in the heat and passed qualifying fastest.
Peaty, who has dominated the breaststroke event for almost a decade, won gold in the 100m at the 2021 Tokyo Games, becoming the first British swimmer to hold an Olympic title.
He missed the 2022 World Championships due to a foot injury and sat out last year as he took time away from the sport to prioritize his mental health.
While some top swimmers are skipping the championships to focus on the 2024 Paris Games, Peaty will use the event as part of his preparations for a third consecutive 100m gold medal at this summer’s Olympics in the French capital. are doing.
Peaty, who reached the semi-finals with the third fastest heat, improved his time to become the fastest qualifying heat, ahead of American Nick Fink (58.73 seconds) and Dutchman Arno Camminga (58.87 seconds). He became a passer-by.
“I feel good,” Peaty said after clinching a spot in the final. “My goal for this competition is to advance through the rounds and progress not only physically and in results, but also mentally, to see what strategies are working and what aren’t. That was it.
“This is something of a test event for us, but obviously we’re going to do our best and put up a good fight.
“After the heat, I was like, ‘Okay, I know what I’m working on, I know what I’m capable of.’ But tonight, we showed a little bit of Adam Peaty, our forward line. I almost went out.”At the end, I was a little mad at myself, as usual.Tonight we showed we can still handle the back end when we really need to.”
Fellow Briton James Wilby competed in the heat.