Adam Peaty crowned number one male swimmer in Europe at LEN Awards 2019

Adam Peaty has been crowned the best male swimmer in Europe for the third time in four years.

The 100m Breaststroke world-record holder was a clear winner in the LEN Awards 2019, topping the poll with 45.8 per cent of the votes.

Hungary’s Kristóf Milák was runner-up after receiving 16.7 per cent of the votes cast by national federations and LEN officials.

Peaty said: “I’m incredibly honoured to receive such a prestigious award, especially with other athletes such as [Kristóf] Milák breaking down barriers that we thought were impossible.

“It shows that the sport is growing in the right direction and it’s amazing to be headlining that right now.

“As always though it’s down to my irreplaceable team that help me get these results and I want to thank everyone for such commitment and dedication to what I do.”

Peaty enjoyed another remarkable year, continuing his dominance of the 100m Breaststroke event and finally achieving Project 56.

His time of 56.88 in the World Championships semi-final was the first time any swimmer had dropped under 57 seconds.

Special journey

He became a three-time double world champion in Gwangju, South Korea, after adding the 50m crown to the 100m gold medal he won in a time of 57.14.

Peaty said at the time of breaking the 100m world record: “Obviously, I’ve been chasing that for years now.

“As soon as I touched that wall in Rio, I was like, ‘I could go faster’. It’s a very special journey that we’ve had.”

Now he has his sights set on Tokyo 2020 – and becoming the first British male double Olympic swimming champion.

Peaty also won the LEN Award in 2016 and 2017 but was beaten to top spot in 2018 by Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov.

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