Peerless Peaty breaks WR twice in one day... with final still to come
Adam Peaty's 50m breaststroke world record previously stood at 26.42 seconds. By the end of Tuesday, the Briton had lowered that to 25.95s.
Adam Peaty sensationally lowered his own 50m breaststroke world record twice in one day at the FINA World Championships, becoming the first man to break the 26-second mark in the process.
Peaty, the Olympic 100m breaststroke champion who won the world title over that distance on Monday, caused a stir in Tuesday's morning session in Budapest when he improved on his previous record 50m time of 26.42 seconds by a considerable margin, clocking 26.10secs in a heat.
However, the Briton was not finished there and went faster still in his subsequent semi-final, winning in a stunning time of 25.95secs.
Even Peaty himself seem shocked to dip under 26 seconds, the 22-year-old mouthing "no way" and smiling broadly upon seeing his time.
In a post-race interview with the BBC, Peaty insisted he was determined to find further improvement, with the final of the 50m breaststroke to come on Wednesday.
"This morning I went 26.1 and I thought 'it's going to be hard to beat that'," he said.
"I can't believe it, I can't even think. I'm just looking for areas now where I can improve."
Former Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington, working as a pundit on the BBC, said of her compatriot: "I think he shocked himself. It was the first time in a long time I've actually seen him genuinely shocked.
"He still has room to improve that - that is what is insane."