Ramsay-Peaty’s first medal came in Saturday’s 100m breaststroke – his specialist event. That was followed by another third-placed finish in the 50m breaststroke on Tuesday evening. The 31-year-old finished in 26.94 – 0.44 off Australian winner Sam Williamson who was able to back up his 100m performance to secure an incredible double in the Scottish city. Michael Houlie secured second as Ramsay-Peaty finished third by just 0.01 of a second.
Uttoxeter-born Ramsay-Peaty came into the race as defending champion having won gold four years ago in Birmingham. The England athlete revved up the crowd during his walk-in, but it was not enough to inspire him to glory.
He had booked his place in the final with a time of 26.82 seconds, as he finished behind just South Africa’s Houlie in his semi-final. And after securing bronze in the short-distance race – Ramsay-Peaty gave an honest interview to TNT Sports.
He said: “Sometimes in that event the harder you try the slower you go. I am learning from this experience as a whole.
“I think for me it’s just getting back to the enjoyment of racing. I made a few errors…you need to be race polished and I am not. I am not going ot be too hard on myself…I am a different man from 12 years ago…I have a six-year old and daughter on way [so that puts it] all in perspective.
“I think my whole career has been ups and downs. First two thirds were very good then I lost way and purpose. The only reason I am here now is to give myself best shot into LA [Olympics] I obviously have a lot to work on.”
On what the run up to LA looks like, he added: “I don’t know – I don’t know what tomorrow looks like. [I will take] lot of learning [from this]. I felt off and I don’t know why, I am slow in the final, I don’t know why, I don’t know what two years looks like.”
The three-time Olympic champion has also previously taken a break from swimming amid a wave of mental health issues in 2023. He was then narrowly pipped to Olympic gold in Paris two years ago as he looked to become the first person to win the men’s 100m breaststroke title for a third consecutive Games.
Ramsay-Peaty has spoken about the difficult decisions that come with being an elite athlete. The swimmer has spent time away from his son and was forced to miss events at home.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the 100m race, he struggled to hide his frustration that those decisions have not been leading to better results.
He said: “They are not even sacrifices; they are choices. It’s like getting knocked out in the group stages in the World Cup for a very good team. You know you’re better and it hurts because you know you have to wait for a very long time for the next championships.
“This is probably – realistically – my last Commonwealth Games and I thought I’d trained for better. I could do better. I’ve been faster this season. That’s where the frustration is.”