Read Mail Online, Rebecca Adlington, the golden girl of British swimming, has revealed that she will not race at the next Olympic Games in Rio in four years’ time – and may even have swum in her last event.
‘Rio is out of reach,’ she said last night. ‘I’ll be 27 then, and swimming, especially for distance swimmers, is a young person’s game. Do I want to carry on and not get any faster? The answer is No.
She also has a theory about why she (and the rest of the Brits) didn’t perform as expected (or hoped) at the London Games:
‘I think the reason I swam slower in the Olympic final than at any point during the year is because our first trials last March were too early. Most of the British swimmers swam their fastest times before the Games, too.
‘We have a 15-week cycle, which is why we all swam so well in our June trials. But it was too long to hang on to that form for London.
‘The first trials would have been better held in April. I’ve trained and raced well all season, but swam slower when it mattered. I wasn’t upset with the bronze in the 800m. It was the time that bothered me.’
4 Comments
@goswim I just read the first 4 words and I thought YOU were retiring Glenn. #dontdoit #rio2016 #comeback
@CathyDurden I’m still waiting for the rule change that allows you to strap a motor to your suit. Remaining hopeful for my return!
@goswim it would be awesome to be in the ready room and lean over and whisper to ur opponent “my suit isn’t exactly street legal” #comeback
@CathyDurden I’m imagining the response to be something like – “that’s ok… my Dad’s the starter.”