Adam Peaty arrived in Budapest focused on Project 56 – seeking to become the first man to break the 57-second barrier over 100m breaststroke.
Instead it seems that Project 25 should have been top of the agenda after the 22-year-old smashed the world record in the heats of the 50m breaststroke.
The morning after being crowned world champion again over 100m, Peaty produced a blistering 26.10, taking a remarkable 0.32 seconds off the world record he set in Kazan back in 2015.
He will return to the Duna Arena on Tuesday evening looking to lower that time even further, with the final scheduled for tomorrow.
And with rivals Cameron van der Burgh, who swam a personal best of 26.54, and Kevin Cordes, who went 26.83, both in form, Peaty was keen to show he was still a cut above.
He said: “Coming into the heats this morning I saw Cam and Kevin go quite fast. I was like 'right, I'll put a mark down'.
“I was quite relaxed. I wasn't going out there this morning for a world record. Honestly.
“I was just going out there just to qualify for the semis. If we can pick up a few hundredths or tenths tonight, we'll be very happy.
“It's 10am. It's quite early for a world record. I'm very happy with that swim. We'll see.
“That world record is two years old, so it's due another push on.
“Last night gave me the confidence because I was out in 26.50. I was like 'right, this is so, so easy – if I can turn off that I can definitely push it on for a 50'.
“That didn't really feel like my best race, so move it on tonight and we'll be very happy.”
Sportsbeat 2017