Swimming: Rebecca Adlington to announce retirement

Published on 05/02/2013 01:50

Four-time Olympic medallist Rebecca Adlington’s career in the pool is set to come to an end with the 23-year-old expected to announce her retirement today.

The Mansfield-born swimmer last week called a press conference in London promising a major announcement, and it appears she will step away from competitive swimming. Yesterday’s announcement that her mentor Bill Furniss has been named as Great Britain head coach also seems to bring the news a step closer.

Her plans have been the subject of debate for some time, her assertion in the autumn that London was her last Olympics prompting a flurry of questions. Adlington’s future was inextricably linked to Furniss’ plans, the pair having forged a partnership at Nova Centurion since she was 12, and next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were clearly an attraction.

She maintained she would return to heavy training in January after which she would come to a decision, one that appears to be she will step away from competition. While she will outline her plans for the future, there is little doubt the Nova Centurion swimmer will remain in the sport in some capacity given her passion for swimming.

Adlington already runs swim schools and has been vocal in her desire for children to be fully versed in water safety from a young age.

She is the most successful British swimmer of the modern era and her double triumph in Beijing made her the first Briton to win two golds in an Olympic pool since Henry Taylor in 1908.