MANSFIELD’S golden girl Rebecca Adlington has admitted she has struggled with the pressure of being double Olympic champion since returning from Beijing as one of the stars of British sport.
She was back in the pool for the British Championships this week but was pipped to first place in one of her golden events – the 400m freestyle- by Olympic bronze medallist Joanne Jackson.
And speaking after the event, Becky herself said she had found it hard to cope with the weight of expectation.
“My motivation is never a question, it’s how to deal with the pressure,” she said. “I don’t think I have ever questioned my motivation.
“I have had a lot to deal with in a short space of time. I’ve just turned 20. Not even my mum and dad can teach me how to cope with the pressure.”
But before people start to question if she is going to struggle to recreate those amazing achievements of last year, lets actually look at the facts.
As she points out herself, she is only 20-years-old and is already double Olympic Champion. I, for one, can’t even imagine the pressure she must be feeling from the outside world, let alone what she will be piling on herself.
Rebecca Adlington returned from Beijing with two Olympic gold medals, but says she is now feeling the weight of expectation.
And despite finishing second, there was no shame at all in her performance.
She actually finished over half a second inside the previous World Record time set by Italian Federica Pellegrini and only lost to Jackson by 0.23 of a second.
And the 400m freestyle isn’t even her best event!
The ludicrous thing though is that despite now owning the second fastest 400m freestyle time in history, she has still not qualified for the World Championships.
Only Jackson, as the race winner, automatically qualifies and Becky now has to head to the Scottish National Championships in June to try and win the event there and take another qualifying spot.
There is no time to change the rules now, but surely it is something swimming bosses need to look at. After all, what kind of World Championships would it be if Becky was not competing in an event in which she is Olympic Champion despite having set a faster personal best than any other swimmer apart from her teammate?
But all is not lost. She qualified for the 200m freestyle final, but has now pulled out of that race to concentrate on her other golden event, the 800m freestyle.
Already holding the World Record in that event, she will just be hoping to prove her dominance by taking the title and having her World Championship place assured for at least one race.
Tags: 400m, 800m, Ashfield, Bolsover, British Championships, chad, chad.co.uk, Federico Pellegrini, gold medal, Mansfield, Mansfield Chad, news, newspaper, Nottinghamshire, Rebecca Adlington, second, Sherwood, Sport, sports, swimming, world championships, World Record
March 19, 2009 at 11:51 am
Sir,
Another cracking blog but will the pressure now grow as she has to go to the Scottish in June in order to qualify.
I note in your previous blog you mentioned the current plight of England rugby. I would argue that Martin Johnson’s men now face far more pressure at the Scottish than Becky, after all on Saturday they look to regain the Calcutta Cup against Scotland. Yes that’s right sports fans Scotland won that battle, but will they be victorious on Saturday??
Also thanks for your abuse on Saturday I know I couldnt catch a cold let alone a puck!