Adam Peaty has said he can barely walk because of gruelling training for Strictly Come Dancing.
The Olympic swimmer and his professional partner Katya Jones will perform a quickstep to Jet’s Are You Going To Be My Girl on Saturday night.
The gold medallist said he is suffering from “very, very, very sore feet” and had woken up thinking: ” I don’t think I can walk today, never mind dance.”
He told ITV’s Lorraine it was the pace of the dance that was to blame, saying: “This is why my feet hurt so much, because I’ve got to change directions so quickly and I’m always on my tiptoes.
Onto the next dance… I’m beggin’ for it to get easier 🤦🏼♂️ @Mrs_katjones @bbcstrictly pic.twitter.com/RIgMcCunHl
— Adam Peaty MBE (@adam_peaty) September 27, 2021
“Literally 95kg going in my toes, so I can’t walk, but we’re nearly there.”
Comparing training for Strictly to training for the Olympics, he said: “With the Olympics you get five years to prepare, if not 12, we’ve got a week to prepare, so it’s very intense.
“You can’t let yourself fall out of the mental zone because she (Jones) has a go at me and she shouts at me, so it’s very very full on, you’ve got to turn up every single day, no matter how tired you are or or how much you got going on in your own life or business or whatever, you’ve still got to turn up.”
He added he takes the training “very seriously”, saying: “I don’t really like to do things half-hearted, I’m always either all in or all out and on Strictly, I’m all in so I’m literally giving every ounce of energy.
“Further to our last message we can now confirm that Tom has tested positive for Covid-19. He is now self isolating and following the latest government guidelines. Please join us in wishing him a speedy recovery.” @mcflymusic https://t.co/NhTGmv9oPM pic.twitter.com/KWkfHjqkoR
— Tom Fletcher (@TomFletcher) September 26, 2021
“I literally can’t move at the end of the day. I’m aware this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I want to make the most of it.”
The second live show will see the stars take to the dancefloor for a second time but McFly singer Tom Fletcher and partner Amy Dowden will be absent after testing positive for Covid-19.
Rugby star Ugo Monye and Oti Mabuse will also be tackling a quickstep, to The Jive Aces’ Bring Me Sunshine, while comedian Robert Webb and Dianne Buswell will tango to La Cumparsita by Machiko Ozawa and Great British Bake Off star John Whaite will do a cha cha to Starstruck by Years & Years with his partner Johannes Radebe.