Britain’s most decorated female Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington opens up about struggles with body weight

By Soumik Bhattacharya

Modified Jul 20, 2024 14:49 GMT

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Adlington recently opened up about the weight gain she had experienced after her retirement from the discipline back in 2013. Adlington retired as the most decorated British swimmer, with two Olympic medals in Beijing and numerous World Championship medals throughout her career.

However, since then, the Mansfield-born swimmer hasn't had it easy combating her post-retirement life. Various incidents such as the miscarriage she had in 2022 and various other traumas related to it have added to her mental stress and physical fitness.

Recently, the 35-year-old appeared in an interview with Telegraph UK during which she was asked about her post-retirement life with a special focus on her fitness.

Replying to this Adlington stated:

"It (her body) has changed massively. I have been pregnant four times and have two kids. Swimmers tend to have pancake bums but then I had kids and these hips suddenly disappeared."

Rebecca Adlington further elaborated on her struggle with maintaining her weight following the birth of her children, Albie, Summer, and Harper. She said during the interview:

"I have very much struggled from a weight prospect I have been a size 10 and now I am a size 16. My wardrobe is a mismatch of sizes. I just pick something out that fits that year."

During the interview, Adlington also remarked that she is not very much into workouts these days due to her full-time job. She spends most of her time on bike rides and dog walking with her children and is focused on devoting most of her leisure time to her family.

Moreover, she also stated that her hormonal challenges and polycystic ovaries have made it difficult for her to improve her body weight.

Rebecca Adlington's love for the pool is never-ending

Rebecca Adlington at the 2012 London Olympics (Image Via: Getty Images)

Even though Adlington's weight gain has given rise to various challenges to her physical fitness, the 35-year-old's love for the pool is still intact. She revealed during an interview that she goes out to swim every week on Sunday.

She told Telegraph UK:

"I go swimming on my own on Sunday morning I love my own company. I don't count my strokes or my lengths. I just swim and my brain goes from one thing to another. "

Adlington added that she covers around two kilometers in roughly 40 minutes and is content with this every week. In the interview, she also revealed that she doesn't miss the competitive side of swimming and neither being an elite athlete.