Olympic gold medalist Adam Peaty punched in face by GB teammate Luke Greenbank

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing

Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Three-time Olympic gold medallist Adam Peaty was left needing treatment after he was punched in the face during a fight with a fellow Team GB swimmer.

Peaty sustained the injuries after he got into an altercation with Luke Greenbank and made a joke involving fellow Olympic gold medallist swimmer Anna Hopkin, whom Greenbank is dating. The bust-up allegedly started after the 27-year-old Peaty hit Greenbank on the backside before making a “cocky” remark, at the Team GB swimming camp in Loughborough, according to the Sun.

A witness who spoke to the paper said: “It was absolute carnage. Peaty was being cocky and made a joke at Greenbank’s expense, before touching his backside. But his actions touched a real nerve for Greenbank and it got very heated.

“Peaty was left with a bloody face and needing treatment.”

British Swimming issued a statement which read: “An incident occurred at a recent training session that was quickly and effectively resolved by the athletes involved and the staff present at the session.”

Peaty’s representatives have also issued a similar statement to The Independent which said: “There was a minor altercation between Adam and his teammate Luke on Friday following a training session. It was resolved there and then between them.”

The Briton has won five Olympic medals, alongside eight gold medals at the World Championships but has struggled with injuries and mental health issues in recent years.

In an interview with The Independent after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he suggested he had an “unhealthy obsession with sport and with progression” and would need some time out. He then missed the following World Championships through injury before returning for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.

However, since then the breaststroke swimmer has yet to return to competition at a major tournament. Peaty skipped the European Championships in 2022 before withdrawing from the 2023 British and World Championships, citing a need for an extended break from swimming. He has repeatedly reiterated his ambitions to return to action for the 2024 Paris Olympics.