Broken washing machine sends Adam Peaty's parents to Rio

The parents of Olympic gold medallist Adam Peaty were only able to see their son compete in Rio because their washing machine broke down.

Caretaker Mark Peaty, 56, and his nursery manager wife Caroline, 50, held off buying tickets until they were certain that Adam had qualified for the games.

However, by the time this happened, prices had rocketed - and the couple was unable to find the thousands of pounds the trip would require.

So when their washing machine broke down, the Peatys only expected things to get worse. But according to the Sun, the repairman turned out to be their saviour.

"The engineer was a friendly chap and during conversation mentioned his daughter swam. Of course being a proud dad, I told him about Adam and his journey," says Mark.

"We mentioned we were hoping to go to Rio to support Adam if he qualified, but had been trying to get hold of tickets since December and costs were through the roof."

Astonishingly, the engineer persuaded both Whirlpool and Domestic & General to chip in and cover the family's costs.

As a result, they were on the spot when their son smashed his own world record to win the 100m breaststroke in just 57.13 seconds.

"I travelled to Glasgow to watch Adam in his first Commonwealth Games but wasn't able to stay to watch the remainder of his swims. Having to leave was heartbreaking, so being here in Rio – and actually being able to stay for the duration means so much," says Caroline.

The Peatys are by no means the only families who have struggled to get to see their children compete. Ellis Hill - whose son Darrell is a member of the US shot-putting team - is only at the games thanks to the generosity of strangers.

When he mentioned to Liz Willock, who works for a global travel agency, that he couldn't afford to travel to Rio, she set up a Go Fund Me page, and raised the necessary $7,500 in just two days. More than 100 other athletes have crowdfunded their families' travel in the same way for themselves.

Even the athletes themselves often struggle to fund their activities. While people taking part in high-profile sports can attract significant funding, that's not the case for some of the more obscure events.

When British steeplechaser Rob Mullett was selected for Rio, his coach Dave Leach was only able to attend thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. When the organisers managed to raise £2,000 more than the cost of Mr Leach's travel, the rest was given to Rob Mullett - who has had 'no funding whatsoever'.