Britain’s triple Olympic gold medallist Adam Peaty suffered a cut over his left eye in a fight with teammate Luke Greenbank at a training camp in England, British newspapers reported on Tuesday.
The Sun said the 28-year-old 50 and 100 metres breaststroke world record holder angered Greenbank by slapping him on the backside and making a joke about his partner, Olympic gold medallist Anna Hopkin.
Peaty and Hopkin were part of the team that won the 4x100 mixed medley relay gold in Tokyo in 2021 while Peaty and Greenbank won 4x100 medley relay silver at the same Games.
British Swimming confirmed there had been an incident between the two at the camp in Loughborough that was “quickly and effectively resolved by the athletes involved and the staff present at the session”.
Peaty did not require any stitches after what his representatives described as a “minor altercation”.
The eight times world champion is working towards next year’s Paris Olympics, where he will try and win a third successive 100m breaststroke gold after taking time out to focus on his mental health.
He has previously spoken about periods of depression and problems with alcohol.
Peaty missed the 2022 world championships in Budapest after fracturing a bone in his foot and also missed the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka last July.
He said in March that he was tired and not enjoying the sport as much as before.
Russians, Belarusians allowed back into swimming eventsRussian and Belarusian swimmers will be permitted to take part in international competitions as neutrals following a decision by World Aquatics, the global swimming federation, to lift the current ban that has divided opinion.
The swimmers had been excluded from competition since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 18 months ago.
“Following extensive consultation and deliberations”, World Aquatics decided “unanimously” on a set of criteria allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to “participate in future World Aquatics competitions as neutral individual athletes”, the federation said in a statement.
This position is consistent with the IOC’s recommendation, made in the spring, to reintegrate Russians and Belarusians into world sport under certain conditions, including that of the neutral flag, and as long as the athletes have not actively supported the war in Ukraine.
Under the new guidelines, swimmers from the two countries will only be able to participate in individual events, with a maximum of one swimmer from each country per event, and will not be authorised to speak to the media present at the Games.
The body said 67 percent of international athletes would support the reintegration of Russians and Belarusians who respect the established conditions.
Since the IOC made clear its position, several international federations - fencing, gymnastics, archery, judo, climbing and badminton - have decided to reintegrate athletes from the two countries, enabling them to chase qualification for next year’s Olympics in Paris.