Adam Peaty shaves off ‘tache overnight before storming into Tokyo 2020 100m breaststroke final in fastest time

ADAM PEATY shed his moustache but not his dominance as he fired another warning to his 100m breaststroke rivals by qualifying half a second quicker than the rest of the final field.

The 26-year-old Peaty, who turned up to Tokyo with a daring 'tache, went a fraction slower than in his opening heat.

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But his semi-final effort of 57.63secs, achieved without his dearly departed facial hair, was still the 11th fastest in history - only he himself has swum quicker.

Peaty had done a bit of overnight grooming, shaving off the moustache that had adorned his upper lip in the opening round.

It did not impact him as his time was just one hundredth of a second slower than in the Rio semi-final.

And with Dutch rival Arno Kamminga, the only semi-serious threat to Peaty, fading to a semi-final time of 58.19, the scale of Peaty’s dominance was laid even more bare.

James Wilby will join Peaty in tomorrow’s final after finishing third behind Kamminga in the opening heat.

Wilby was only fifth at halfway but came stronger in the second 50m to clock 59.00 and be sixth fastest qualifier.

Peaty admitted his biggest stress so far was about that facial fuzz, having received stick for his new look online.

He said: “Yes, I had to shave it. I got a lot of bad comments about that moustache.”

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Peaty added: “It was a little bit better. A very similar time but more controlled.

“Medals aren’t won in the heats or the semis so there’s still a bit in reserve for tomorrow.

“Olympics Finals are always about racing, never about the time. But I’m the best racer in the world and I’m looking forward to it.

“I wanted to be a little bit quicker but it was a morning swim. You never know what is going to happen.”

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Peaty bowed to the empty stands and cameras when he went to the block, signalling it was a message to the Japanese public.

He said: “It’s obviously very different in the worldwide perspective but everybody here is welcoming and happy.

“These are the Olympic Games, the greatest show on earth and we want to show a mutual respect.”

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