World records have tumbled and gold medals won but the colourful array of tattoos on show at the world swimming championships have proved just as eye-catching, be they designs of sharks, dolphins or even the lion adorning the arm of Adam Peaty’s grandmother.
A vast array of images, script, and secretive symbols adorned the bodies of competitors, from flowing and harmonious waves to powerful and speedy creatures of the deep.
The Olympic rings – a proud stamp on the skin of the swimmers who competed at a Games – are also common place, but some of the world’s fastest have explained the thinking behind the art work on their bodies.
Britain’s Peaty has been one of the stand-out performers at the Duna Arena with two world records and golds in the men’s 50-metre and 100-metre breaststroke. Peaty had a large tattoo of a lion inked onto his left shoulder after winning the Olympic 100-metre breaststroke title last year in Rio de Janeiro.
“The tattoo is more about training for me,” said the 22-year-old in Budapest. “When you wake up, you look in the mirror and you go to the pool. It reminds me of the hard work I put in to win in Rio, while I am swimming.”
He added, “It also keeps me grounded and passionate about what I do, it reminds me of how I got there. It is great to have a reminder, it’s getting extended in a few days.”
Peaty’s wheelchair-bound grandmother, Mavis Williams, 74, got a temporary tattoo, a copy of his lion tattoo, which delighted the British swimmer. “That was crazy, I actually thought she had had a proper tattoo done, I thought ‘oh my god, what has she done, but she loves it,” said Peaty with a grin.
Bruno Fratus, who took silver in the men’s 50-metre freestyle on Saturday behind Caeleb Dressel of the USA, explained how his winged tattoo was done on a whim.
“I trust the guy who does my tattoos so badly that I just give him my arms and say ‘do whatever you feel like as long as it’s not too crazy’ as I still got to wear short sleeves,” the 28-year-old told AFP.
‘It’s who I am’
“As long as I have space and money I’ll keep doing it, and time off because every time you tattoo something you need 10 days off water. That’s a graffiti I saw in Miami in Wynwood, I just took a picture and give it to him as a reference. That one’s just a wing. I woke up one morning and thought ‘I think I would look good with a wing on my arm’.”
His compatriot, Etiene Medeiros won the women’s 50-metre backstroke gold on Thursday and explained the differing motivations for her tattoos.
“I have an ocean mermaid on my forearm to bring its energy into my life, beneath it a lotus flower, which is rising from the ashes like a phoenix,” said the 26-year-old Brazilian.
“Beneath that, an ‘ohana’ tattoo to remind me how blessed I am to have my family and friends. On my ankles, I have the name of my father and mother, I also have other ones which are hidden.”
South African-born Dutch swimmer Kyle Stolk boasts a springbok and an Irish shamrock displayed on a resplendent Dutch flag.
“I wanted to incorporate the three places that have made me where I am today,” said the swimmer, who learned his trade in Dublin, before moving to the Netherlands who he represented at the Rio Olympics.
“It might be a too flamboyant for some people but it means a lot to me, it’s who I am,” he said.
