Adam Ramsay-Peaty is preparing to face 18-year-old Filip Nowacki in the Commonwealth Games 100m breaststroke final in Glasgow, framing the race as a contest between an established champion and his emerging apprentice. It matters because Nowacki trains within Ramsay-Peaty’s AP Race development programme and has already surpassed some of his former age-group records, while Ramsay-Peaty seeks to reassert himself ahead of the Los Angeles Olympics.

Ramsay-Peaty, 31, won their semi-final after building an early lead despite uncertainty over a broken finger suffered in June, and is pursuing a 33rd major gold medal. Nowacki, competing for Jersey, is considered particularly strong over 200m breaststroke but believes he can challenge in the shorter event; he grew up watching Ramsay-Peaty win Olympic titles and hopes they will become Team GB team-mates in 2028. Ramsay-Peaty has not won a major title since the 2022 Commonwealth Games, although he took Olympic silver in Paris.