Rebecca Adlington could have spent ‘middle-Saturday’ at Wimbledon hob-nobbing with her Olympic chums and watching tennis from the royal box.  Instead, she was at the Tollcross Pool in Glasgow, putting the finishing touches to her preparations for this month’s world championships. 

And she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. “There will be plenty chances to go to Wimbledon,” was how she succinctly summed up the fact that there are very limited opportunities to star on the sporting stage.  Especially in swimming. 

It was in Beijing in August last year that Rebecca suddenly became a household name in Britain, when she claimed an unexpected Olympic gold medal in the 400m freestyle. A few days later and she became a superstar when she broke the world record in the 800m freestyle.

Since then, Rebecca has done the inevitable round of TV chat shows, been invited to a host of high profile events and last month she received the OBE from the Queen.  “That was special,” she recounted. “The Queen even asked me about my swimming training.”

Even now, she seems surprised by all the accolades that followed her achievement in becoming Britain’s first female Olympic swimming gold medallist since Anita Lonsbrough in Rome in 1960.  

However, it is in a swimming pool that she still feels most comfortable and, at Tollcross, the 20-year-old confirmed that she is ready to bid for world glory at Rome this month. At the British Gas Scottish Open Championships – the final trials for the world championships - she won both the 800m and 200m freestyle. In Italy, she will line-up in the individual 400m and 800m freestyle plus the 4 x 200m relay.

At the first round of trials in Sheffield in March, Rebecca actually had to settle for second best in the 400m behind Jo Jackson – the bronze medallist from Beijing - who won the event in a world record time. So does she mind having a serious rival within the GB team?

“Oh no,” she insists. “I love having Jo there so that we can push each other. We’ve swum against each other for so long. She’s a little older than me and she was always someone I looked up to. Now it’s great that Britain has two distance freestylers at the very top.”

As for the worlds, she is totally focused. She hopes to strike gold in the 400m freestyle – she expects to top the podium in her favourite 800m freestyle.  “I would like to think I could get close to my world record in the longer event. After Glasgow, I went back to Nottingham on Sunday evening and was straight back into hard training on the Monday with my coach, Bill Furniss. 

While much has happened to Rebecca over the past ten months, she remains pleasingly grounded.  She shares a flat with her boyfriend - Scottish international butterfly swimmer, Andy Mayor – in Nottingham, while her outside interests are handled by a man who knows a thing or two about distance freestyle. Graeme Smith was the Scot who claimed a bronze medal in the 1500m freestyle at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. 

But after a decade of commitment, years of punishing training routines and a determination to keep improving, Rebecca does not want to be a one-Olympic wonder. Her ultimate goal is striking Olympic gold in a home pool in three years’ time. 

“London 2012 is going to be brilliant. It is such a chance for everybody,” she says.  “It’s always been the big target.”

Looking back on the post-Beijing celebrations, she says: “It was incredible when we got back from China and there was so much stuff going on. The reception we got on the bus ride through London was absolutely brilliant. I just didn’t expect it at all.

“But I never ever had any other plans than to get back into training and start to get ready for London. Mind you, I did have five weeks off so although motivation wasn’t a problem my fitness wasn’t great. It was probably my longest time out of the water since I learned to swim at the age of eight.  I became competitive around 12 or 13. I followed my sister – I wanted to be like her.”

While she has enjoyed the fame since Beijing, it may come as a surprise to many that the monetary gain would hardly fill a trowel. She only has one sponsor – Speedo – but Rebecca has used her new status to become an Ambassador for the Encephalitis Society, a serious illness that causes inflammation of the brain. 

“When I returned from Beijing, I was inundated by requests from charities and other good causes,” she explained. “Given my ongoing training routine, it was impossible to fulfil every request. But, a few years ago, my sister Laura suffered from encephalitis and spent weeks in hospital. At the time, I knew nothing about the illness so now it’s great if I can help raise awareness. 

“Fortunately, Laura is now fit and healthy. She still suffers from headaches and she does get very tired. But she is back at university and has been able to finish her studies. Now it’s nice to be involved with the Society and try and help other people.”

After the world championships, Rebecca has another important occasion later this summer. The Swimming Baths in Mansfield, where she learned her trade, is to be renamed the Rebecca Adlington Swimming Centre when it opens after refurbishment. It is a deserved accolade for a modest, but hugely successful, British sportswoman.

EB
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