In January 2009, a young swimmer called Adam Peaty joined the City of Derby club under the watchful eye of coach Mel Marshall a month after his 15th birthday.
Mel competed at two Olympics as well as winning world, European and Commonwealth medals before moving into coaching.
It was not an auspicious start, however, with Marshall less than impressed by Adam’s freestyle.
“He was in the third lane with the 11-year-old girls,” she recalls. “But then I saw him do breaststroke and I thought this kid’s good.”
Five years later he won Commonwealth and European titles as well as the small matter of the one-length world record.
On into 2015 and the British Championships at London Aquatics Centre in April arrived with a growing excitement about the 20-year-old from Uttoxeter.
He shocked the 200m establishment, including an Olympic silver medallist and a 2012 finalist, over four lengths.
Then came the 100m and the fastest heat swim of his life. So to the final where he swam in the same lane four at the same pool that Cameron van der Burgh set the world record en-route to Olympic gold in 2012.
Turning under Cameron’s world record in 27.04, the roars in the Aquatics Centre grew ever louder as Adam continued to pull away from the field.
Those roars…
