Make no mistake, Adam Peaty is a man who knows he is the swimmer the rest of the field is gunning for.
But when it comes to labelling just what is in store for him in this month’s World Championships in Budapest, title attack is a more accurate representation than title defence.
Despite taking the full set of Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth gold medals, the 22-year-old has not cast aside any of his motivation, with a chance to put that to the test in the World Championships when the 100m breaststroke begins on Sunday.
All of the achievements came in three breakthrough years for Peaty, though the challenge of retaining as opposed to claiming the titles is set to be the major test in Hungary.
But the man himself is not worried about the task in hand.
“I won’t be in Budapest to defend my titles, I’ll be there to attack them,” Peaty told British Swimming. “Attack just seems a little bit more aggressive and is more my personality. I’m not really one to sit back and just let it happen.
“The guys lined up next to me will all share the same mindset. We all want to put on a show, we all want to put on a spectacle that everyone loves.
“You want to put it on for your fans, your friends and your family that support you all of the way.
“At the end of it all it’s just a race and I like to attack those. For me attack is the best form of defence.”
Not even the barrage of titles he already has in his locker can stop Peaty looking at ways he can improve.
That has come in the form of work with coach Mel Marshall, setting new targets and challenges to shave the vital tenths and hundredths of seconds off his time on the way to Tokyo 2020.
The Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist has also been making the most of his time in Edinburgh prior to his trip to Europe, already noticing the differences as a busy year in the pool continues.
“I’m in a better shape mentally and physically than in previous seasons,” he added. “I’m going into the World Championships in a good place. I had a really good winter of training following two months off after Rio.
“We’ve tried a few different things in all of our preparation events leading up to these championships. I’ve looked in detail at my race skills, have worked hard to address any weakness and the result is that I’m stronger now. I’m looking forward to putting these to the test.
“I want to pick up from where I left off in Rio but sport is sport and anything can happen. I respect that I’ll be in a line with other guys and it will be anybody’s race.
“That said I’m in a good place, I feel confident and I’m the current world champion but I also respect that I’m racing the best in the world as well.”
Sportsbeat 2017