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First Words
Rebecca Adlington really is a class act. The world-record holder for the 800m Freestyle since an awe-inspiring performance at the Beijing Olympics, there have been choppy waters for the Mansfield swimmer since: she finished fourth to be shoved off the podium in her favoured event in the World Champs last year, and then let nerves get to her in the recent Europeans to slump to 7th place.
The true test of a champion is how they react to adversity though, and Adlington’s brilliant performance in the European 400m Freestyle three days later, finishing first in 4:4:55, confirmed that the 21-year-old – yes, still only 21 - remains the world’s freestyle distance swimmer to beat.
What else makes Adlington a class act is that in an exclusive interview for ActivInstinct magazine, which will soon appear in its September issue, she gave the impression that she had not changed a dot since becoming a superstar two years ago. There is no sense of grandeur - what you see is what you get – like when discussing how much she misses those full-length competition swimsuits, which are now banned (Adlington was 3.76 seconds slower over 400m in winning the European title than she was in finishing 3rd in the World’s last year in the fast suits).
“The best part about [the new rule] is that we don’t have to put the suits on any more,” starts Adlington. “They were extremely painful! It would take about 30 minutes to get them on, and they would rip the skin off your knuckles in the process. They were so tight it was unbelievable, and it is so much better just having to wear a normal swimsuit.”
All’s well that ends well then. Bring on the Commonwealth Games.
Robin Barwick, Editor
