Britain’s Adam Peaty broke the 50m breaststroke world record for the second time in a day as he reached the World Aquatics Championships final.
The defending champion, 22, won the semi-final in 25.95 seconds, becoming the first person to break 26 seconds and eclipsing his 26.10 in the heats.
“I honestly can’t believe it. I can’t even think. I just went out there and did what I do,” he told BBC Sport.
Peaty retained his 100m breaststroke title in Budapest, Hungary on Monday.
He added:
“The hard work has gone on in the gym. I am looking for areas of where I can improve and hopefully get down to mid-25.”
After winning 100m gold, Olympic champion Peaty predicted “something special” on Tuesday. He returned to the pool to break the 50m world record of 26.42 he set at the 2015 World Championships in Russia. A dominant Peaty went almost half a second quicker in the semi-final, finishing 0.73secs clear of Felipe Lima of Brazil (26.68). South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh – 50m breaststroke world champion in 2013 – was third in 26.74.
“I thought I was going to go slower in the semi-final because I was a little bit less energetic,” Peaty said.
“I was on such a massive high from this morning and it was so hard to ignore the fact that I did a world record and try to get myself emotionally ready.”
If Peaty wins Wednesday’s final – scheduled for 17:17 BST – he will replicate his achievements at the World Championships two years ago when he took the 50m and 100m titles.
(Via: bbc.co.uk / Fotó: MTI)