The swimming superstar lost by a hair’s breadth to Italian Nicolo Martinenghi but says he’s happy with his performance as it “took so much to get here”.
Adam Peaty was pipped to gold by 0.02 seconds as he narrowly failed to claim a third consecutive men’s 100m breaststroke title at the Olympics.
The Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 champion was bidding to become the second male swimmer after US legend Michael Phelps to win gold at three successive Games.
However, he lost to Nicolo Martinenghi and had to share silver with American Nic Fink after the pair both came in at 59.05 seconds.
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Peaty told the BBC he gave his “absolute all” and “executed as well as I could”.
“It’s not about the end goal, I think it’s all about the process. It doesn’t matter what the time says on the scoreboard, in my heart I’ve already won,” he said, before choking up.
“I’m not crying because I came second, I’m crying because it took so much to get here.”
Peaty’s extremely narrow loss means Team GB’s wait for a first gold in Paris goes on.
The 29-year-old had a turbulent few years after his dominant performance in Tokyo four years ago.
In September, he was reportedly injured after an “altercation” with fellow swimmer Luke Greenbank at a training session.
The Staffordshire-born star also pulled out of last year’s British championships, citing mental health issues and saying he was “not enjoying the sport”.
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Sunday’s medal haul for Team GB also included a bronze for Kimberley Woods in the K1 kayak slalom.
There was also a strong performance by the equestrian team, who stayed top after the cross-country segment of the Eventing.
But the biggest drama for the team came on the tennis court.
Andy Murray and Dan Evans fought back from a set down and saved five match points in an epic comeback against the Japanese team in the first round.
The result postpones Murray’s retirement, with the Scot previously announcing he’s calling it a day after the Paris Olympics.