She may have retired from the sport but two-time Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington has certainly not severed all ties with swimming and will now become a mentor.
The 24-year-old, who called time on her competitive career last year, will use her experience as Britain’s most successful swimmer to mentor six youngsters from the World Class Swimming Programme.
The six swimmers are Ross Murdoch, Adam Peaty, Lauren Quigley, Harriet Cooper, Jess Fullalove and Sophie Taylor and Adlington cannot wait to pass on some of her knowledge.
“I really wanted to get involved in a mentoring programme because I know how easy it can be within sport to feel on your own,” she said.
“Having the opportunity to talk through issues or concerns with someone outside of your usual support network can really help, which is one of the main aims of the programme.
“I’ve already made contact with most of the group and everyone seems really open to the programme. It’s completely up to the athletes how often we talk but what’s important is that they feel they can come to me with anything.
“If they’ve had a bad training session, or are concerned about something I hope they will contact me so we can talk through it.
“I’m really keen to pass on any advice I may have gained through my experience of swimming and do all that I can to support the next generation of medallists.”
British Swimming head coach Bill Furniss, who steered Adlington to two Olympic gold medals in Beijing and double bronze in London, said:
“We have identified a group of six athletes that Rebecca will work with to help provide an additional support mechanism.
“Rebecca has a great deal of experience and with that comes a unique perspective about what it takes to produce at the highest level. I am sure that sharing her advice about how to handle situations and expectations will be very valuable to these young athletes.”
© Sportsbeat 2014