Balance Jan Issue 2018 - 42

TA K I N G T H E P L U N G E

BECKY BY
NUMBERS

Home
and dry

Honours won
over a prolific
swimming career

70,000m
The average
length swam
per week (more
than 40 miles)

How swimming sensation
Rebecca Adlington embraced
life after Olympic glory

W
words by SANDIE J ONE S

as it really almost
10 years ago
that swimming
sensation
Rebecca
Adlington, or Becky, as she prefers to be known,
stormed the Olympics in Beijing, winning two
gold medals? It seems like only yesterday.
Since then, Becky has seen a dramatic
transformation in every area of her life.
'My life couldn't be more different now to the
19-year-old I was then,' she says. 'All the time
I was swimming. Up at five every morning,
doing two hours in the pool before hitting the
gym and then back in the pool. Everything was
focused around swimming.'
Yet although that may sound like torture, the
structure and discipline she lived by is the thing
she most misses since retiring after the London
Olympics. 'I'm a very organised person and for
50 weeks of the year, I knew what I had to do and
where I needed to be. It still feels strange not
having that support and being part of a team.'
The one thing she didn't miss, certainly not in
the immediate aftermath of stepping away from
competitive sport, was the fitness regime.
'For that first year, I needed to give my body
a break,' she says. 'I was so done with waking
up every day aching and feeling knackered. It
doesn't just take a toll on you physically, but
mentally as well.'

STARTING A FAMILY

swim sessions a
week to hit the
heights of global
success

£1,000

Estimate real
value of her gold
medals
Rebecca Adlington
- right, as part of
the commentary
team at the Rio
Olympics and, below,
at London 2012

Amount of time to
hit Olympic gold

in so many ways. People often focus on
how we look from the outside, but it's the
inside we should be concentrating on.'

WORKING WITH KIDS

G OL DE N D AY S

At the 2008
Olympics she
became the first
British swimmer
to win two gold
medals for
100 years.

Her wedding to fellow swimmer, Harry Needs in
2014, gave Becky the motivation to get back into
shape, but soon after getting married, she fell
pregnant with her daughter Summer. 'Having a
baby has changed my perspective on life

42

YEARS

BA LA N CE January 2018

Sadly, Becky and Harry separated when their
daughter was six months old, and although
they co-parent amicably, Becky admits
being a single parent presents its challenges.
'Of course there are moments when I wish
we were still together, but I really can't
complain. Both Harry and I are very handson and know how we want to raise her.'
These days, Becky's children's swimming
programme (beckyadlingtonswimstars.com)
takes up most of her time, in which 8,000
children a week are learning to swim. 'I
knew as soon as I retired from competition
that I wanted to start working with children
and get them swimming, but what we've
achieved has gone beyond anything I could
possibly have imagined.' B

IMAGES: PA PHOTOS, SHUTTERSTOCK

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Balance Jan Issue 2018

Balance Jan Issue 2018 - 1
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