Quick Facts
| Full Name: | Rebecca Adlington |
| Age: | 34 years |
| Birthday: | 17 Feb |
| Birthplace: | Mansfield, Nottinghamshire |
| Nationality: | British |
| Gender: | Female |
| Horoscope: | Aquarius |
| Dating: | Andrew Parson |
| Net Worth: | $1.1 million |
| Height: | 5 feet 10 inches (1.78m) |
| Profession: | Swimmer, trainer |
| Sibling: | Two (sisters: Laura and Chloe) |
Rebecca Adlington is a former competitive swimmer from the United Kingdom. She competed in a variety of events, including the Summer Olympics in 2008 and 2012, the Commonwealth Games, the World Aquatics Championships, and the European Swimming Championship, among others. She is now a swim coach.
How old is Rebecca Adlington?
Rebecca Adlington was born on February 17, 1989, and she is currently 34 years old. Likewise, her zodiac sign is Aquarius.
She is originally from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and thus holds British nationality. Her parents are Steve Adlington, her father, and Kay Adlington, her mother.
She has two sisters, Laura Adlington and Chloe Adlington. Furthermore, Adlington’s great-uncle is former Derby County goalkeeper Terry Adlington.
She is also a big Derby fan. Terry was a successful goalie in both England and the United States during his career.
Laura, one of her sisters, suffered from encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain, which inspired Rebecca to do better. In 2012, she stated that her sister’s suffering motivated her to train harder.
Laura recovered from the incident over time after it occurred in 2005. As a result of this incident, Rebecca became an Ambassador of the Encephalitis Society in 2009 and helped raise awareness about the illness, i.e. encephalitis.
Education of Rebecca Adlington
Rebecca began her educational journey at Brunts School, which is now known as Brunts Academy, in 2012. She later joined Sherwood Colliery Swimming Club and began swimming with them.
Rebecca Adlington competed in local swimming leagues while representing this club, and she also competed in the National Speedo ‘B’ Final in May 2010. She began swimming at the age of three and began competing at the age of nine.
Career Line of Rebecca Adlington
- Rebecca is a professional swimmer who represented Team GB at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012. She competed in the 400-meter and 800-meter freestyle events at the Summer Olympics in 2008.
- Rebecca was also scheduled to compete in the 4200-meter freestyle relay, but she was rested in the heat and her team failed to qualify for the final.
- Rebecca also broke the Commonwealth record in the 400-meter freestyle heats with a time of 4:02.24. She won an Olympic gold medal in the same event with a time of 4:03.22 on August 11, 2008.
- She won by defeating Katie Hoff of the United States in the final 20 meters.
- Rebecca became the first woman to win a gold medal for Team GB in swimming in the last decade.
- Before her, Anita Lonsbrough was the only person to do so in 1960. Rebecca also became the first British woman swimmer to win multiple gold medals at the same Olympic Games in the last decade.
- Before her, the only other person to do so was Henry Taylor, who won three gold medals in 1908.
- Rebecca also competed in the World Aquatics Championships in Rome in 2009. Despite her personal best effort, she won bronze in the 400-meter freestyle during this event. She also took bronze in the 4200-meter freestyle.
- Adlington, sadly, squandered her opportunity and finished fourth in her favorite 800-meter freestyle event. Later, she revealed that she suffered as a result of the expectations placed on her before the game.
- Rebecca also competed in the European Swimming Championship in Budapest in 2010. She won gold in the 400-meter freestyle and bronze in the 4200-meter freestyle.
- Unfortunately, she again missed her favorite 800-meter freestyle and finished seventh.
- Rebecca also took part in the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. She won a ‘bonus’ bronze in the 200-meter freestyle and another bronze as part of the British record-breaking 4200-meter freestyle relay team.
- Rebecca also won the 800-meter freestyle event from start to finish. This helped her win her first Commonwealth Games gold medal.
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- Rebecca also won her second gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle, finishing first in the 800-meter freestyle and second in the 400-meter freestyle.
- Rebecca also won gold in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships. She beat Lotte Friis in the final 50 meters. Similarly, she took silver in the 400m freestyle, with world record holder Federica Pellegrini of Italy taking gold.
- Rebecca also won two bronze medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The events were 400-meter and 800-meter freestyles. Rebecca announced that she would withdraw from the 800-meter race and would not compete in the Rio Olympics. She later retired in February 2013.
- Rebecca has appeared on several television shows during her career as a swimmer. She appeared as a panelist on Loose Women, an ITV lunchtime chat show. She appeared in three episodes, which aired on March 25, April 17, and May 22, 2014. She was also a contestant in The Jump Series 3.
- However, she was forced to withdraw from the show on February 7, 2016, after dislocating her shoulder during training.
- Rebecca also joined the BBC’s team of presenters for the swimming events at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. For this, she collaborated with Helen Skelton and Mark Foster.
- Similarly, she continued in this role at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships and the 2018 European Championships, among other events.
- Rebecca also appeared in the 13th season of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! The show aired in Australia beginning on November 17, 2013.
- Similarly, she finished sixth after the public voted her out on December 6, 2013.
- Rebecca has appeared as a contestant on several variety shows. MasterChef, All-Star Family Fortunes, Come Dine with Me, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (with Kian Egan), and The Chase are examples of such shows. Furthermore, Rebecca and Slazenger have already collaborated on two swimwear collections, and they are currently working on the third.
- She is also an ambassador for the Encephalitis Society and a patron of Women in Sports charities.
What is Rebecca doing now?
Despite her retirement, Rebecca is committed to swimming as hard as she ever was! Her program, “SwimStars Programme,” is now up and running after nearly three years of planning.
She began this project to have every child in the United Kingdom be able to swim 25 meters by the time they finished primary school. She also hopes to expand this program throughout the United Kingdom.
Likewise, she collaborated with Alan Rapley and Linda Freeman on the development and delivery of the Learn to Swim program.
They are well-respected and experienced Swim England trainers with the necessary knowledge and experience for the role. They intend to train people and help them build a career in aquatics, thereby changing people’s lives.
Achievements and Awards of Rebecca Adlington
Rebecca has accomplished so much during her time as a competitive swimmer. She also set records for her country in several games.
Rebecca has received honors in her society in addition to her achievements in games and events.
When the Sherwood Swimming Baths in Mansfield reopened after renovations in January 2010, they were renamed Rebecca Adlington Swimming Centre.
In her honor, they renamed Yates Bar in Mansfield Adlington Arms, but it quickly reverted to its original name.
Rebecca also received the Sports Journalists Association’s Sportswoman of the Year trophy. She received it at a ceremony in the City of London, where Princess Anne, a previous recipient of the award, presented it to her.
Later that year, Rebecca was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen’s Near Year Honors list.
She also received a Master of Arts degree from the University of Nottingham, recognizing her outstanding contribution to British sports. She received her diploma in December 2009.
Is Rebecca Adlington dating someone?
Rebecca is currently in a relationship with Andrew Parson. They’ve been together since 2018. Parson also has a good relationship with Rebecca’s daughter, who appears to like him a lot.
She was previously married to former swimmer Harry Needs. They married on September 7, 2014, and have a daughter together. Summer was born in 2015.
Rebecca gave birth at the age of 26, and the baby was four days late. The couple, however, divorced in 2016.
Rumors of Rebecca Adlington
Rebecca was linked romantically to former Olympic swimmer Mark Foster in 2017. Rebecca was seen squeezing Mark’s leg during an interview, which fueled the rumor even more.
Mark, on the other hand, came out as gay in a late 2017 interview with the Guardian. During the same interview, Mark explained the situation with Rebecca squeezing his leg.
He explained that it is Rebecca’s way of signaling Mark to take over during interviews when she does not want to answer anything on live television.
Mark’s close friends and family were aware of his sexual orientation before he came out publicly.
Rebecca is also a member of the inner circle, so she was aware of it long before the general public! Mark and Rebecca did not address the rumors surrounding their romance because they did not want Mark to feel “pushed” to share his sexuality until he was comfortable.
Furthermore, there have been rumors that she is in a relationship with Thomas Haffield, but the two are BFFs, as Rebecca stated in an Instagram post with him.
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