The Olympics 2012 is not just any Olympics. It’s the London Olympics. And us mere mortals can only imagine the excitement for professional UK athletes as they look towards taking part in the epic event in their own country. One of the “very excited” athletes is swimmer Rebecca Adlington.
Just four years ago, Rebecca was the first British swimmer for a century to win two gold medals at the Olympics, taking first place in the 800m and 400m. Now she has her sights firmly set on the London Olympics. But where does she find the motivation? After all, swimming involves a lot of early mornings and many, many lengths of a pool.
Apparently, Rebecca has never had a problem with motivation. She is reported as saying: “Swimming means everything to me. It is my life, I love it and it’s what I’ve always wanted from an early age. I don’t have a problem getting up in the morning.
“It’s lonely because you are on your own — but in a good way. What’s wrong with being on your own? As soon as I dive in the pool I am in Becky World.
“I feel completely like nothing else in the world matters or is going on. I’m free, there is only me and the water.”
Rebecca will soon be 23 and she has been swimming pretty much since she was three. She followed her older sisters into swimming clubs but back then it was her siblings that had all the swimming badges and prizes.
Of course, Rebecca’s time came in 2008 in the Beijing Olympics and then in 2011 with a world 800m gold and 400m silver. The swimmer also received an OBE from the Queen.
Rebecca claims that her Olympic medals are greatly treasured but placed firmly in the past. She is reported as saying: “I’ve put them in a bag and I don’t take them out to look at them. What happened was amazing and I will always have them and no one can ever take the two medals away from me but there has to be a point when you move on. I want to look to the future now.
“When I retire I will want to take them to places — but at the moment I want to focus on new goals.”
She added: “I still get nervous. It never goes away but that is a good thing. It shows you care, that you want it, that you want to achieve something. It’s like your body is getting ready to race. And the day I don’t get nervous is the day I retire.”
We’re wishing Rebecca the best of luck – and swimming skill – in the forthcoming London Olympics.
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Fiona Russell is an outdoors,fitness and health writer. She works for a range of traditional press and on-line publications. She somehow manages to live the dream, combining her love of the outdoors with a full-time job and family. See 
