Interview with Olympic Winning Swimmer Becky Adlington

Before Olympic winning swimmer Becky (recipent of 2 gold medals in 2008) entered ITV’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! I had the chance to interview her for Wonderful Women, my space to celebrate women everywhere! Go be inspired!

Describe a typical day for you?
Whilst competing professionally, I used to spend much of my days training in the pool with my coach. Of course these sessions were broken up with appointments with my physio and nutritionist as well as gym fitness sessions.
Since retiring from international competitive swimming in February I have been busy setting up my own swimming school – Becky Adlington’s Swim Stars. This has allowed me to get really hands on with running a business. I do still manage to have time to head for a quick dip now and then again!

What do you feel are your biggest achievements?
Being Great Britain’s most successful ever swimmer is something that I am very proud of. Winning two gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games was the highlight of my swimming career. I worked incredibly hard to get to that point and it really was a dream come true.

What are your ambitions in life?
I’m very proud of what I have achieved so far, but my journey is not finished yet. My vision is that every child in Britain will be able to swim 25 metres by the time they leave primary school. Being able to swim is such a wonderful life skill, and I see this as my greatest challenge in swimming.

This is one of the reasons for opening Becky Adlington’s Swim Stars. This programme is open to children up and down the country. It is an exciting learn to swim programme written by myself with the help of Alan Rapley and Linda Freeman, two of the most experienced and respected experts in teaching children to swim. My aim to provide the best and most enjoyable way for children to learn how to swim, focused on values such as excellence, determination, respect and friendship.

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
I am hoping to be very much still involved with Swim Stars and help it grow it from strength to strength. My passion is swimming and therefore I will continue to be involved in the sport, whether that be by coaching new generations of Olympic stars or commentating on championship competitions – I am keen to be involved as possible to ensure British swimming stays as fantastic as it is now.

What’s in your handbag/satchel etc?
The usual stuff, despite the Gold medals I’m a pretty normal person.

What advice would you give a budding Olympic swimmer?
If you want to succeed in something it is always important to keep focused. Train hard and keep believing and you can achieve anything you want. Ensure you keep your training fun and enjoyable as it will be much easier to reach those goals. It always helps to have an element of competition so join your local club and enter as many swimming galas as possible.

Finally, happiness is…
Being with my friends and family on holiday!
For more information please visit: http://www.beckyadlingtonsswimstars.com/