Commonwealth and European gold medallist Adam Peaty was "gobsmacked" to be bracketed with Rory McIlroy and Lewis Hamilton this week.

The 19-year-old has set a new world record and won multiple golds at both the Commonwealth Games and European Championships during a superb 2014.

Even so, it still came as a major surprise to the teenager to be nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award along with the world number one golfer and the new Formula One world champion.

Gareth Bale, Jo Pavey and Carl Froch are among the other high-profile names in contention for the prestigious award.

"I was absolutely gobsmacked," Peaty told Press Association Sport. "It is the biggest thing in Britain to do with sports awards. Even to be nominated for that is an absolute honour.

"Hopefully, in a few years, I might even win it. Maybe even this year - you never what might happen, but I think I would faint if I did!"

Peaty made his senior breakthrough last year, setting personal bests in all three of his breaststroke events at the European Short Course Championships in Herning.

He has built on that dramatically in 2014, winning two golds at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and four at the European Championships in Berlin. For good measure, he broke the 50 metre world breastroke record in the process.

"It has been a really amazing year for me," he said. "It has been one of those years where it has all come together and all the training has paid off.

"Coming into this last year I didn't think I'd ever get a world record. For that to happen was absolutely amazing, and it is an amazing thing to think of right now.

"It all came within such a short space of time that I didn't really have time for it to sink in. It is only now that now I know what I have achieved it is becoming a reality - but I am kind of away with the fairies most of the time!

"Hopefully it is something I can achieve more of, but now it is all about putting it behind me and moving on and getting faster.

"It all about pushing on more for the World Championships and then pushing on even more for Rio."

Peaty, who still lives with his parents in Uttoxeter, is a driven individual in the pool, motivated by disappointments experienced at junior level. He spends upwards of 30 hours a week in the water and has his sights firmly set on next year's World Championships in Kazan. After that will come the Olympics of Rio 2016.

He said: "I said I never wanted to feel the disappointment that I felt back then (in juniors) again, and thought if I trained hard it would come in handy. So, here I am.

"When it comes to Rio, in that last 25 (metres), it will come down to who has trained the most efficiently, skilfully and been the hardest worker. That is what I keep thinking of and hopefully it will pay off."

And now he has had time to digest that SPOTY shortlist, that same determination is coming out again.

"I hope I do win it," he said. "Every time I enter a competition I hope I can.

"But it's a very talented field and I am the youngest contestant. We'll just see what happens."